My name is Claudia Tozzi and I am an Italian graduate student at the
University of Tor Vergata, Rome. I completed a Master’s degree in
Classical Archaeology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata with a
thesis on Roman Painting, under the supervision of Professor Margherita
Bonanno Aravantinos. I was awarded a scholarship with the program
‘Erasmus Placement’ by my university and this grant permitted me to
spend a two-month period of traineeship abroad. I wanted to come to
Athens because I love Greece’s ancient history, culture and monuments. I
had previously visited Athens for vacation and wanted to come back. I
choose to use the placement opportunity to explore ancient sites and
museums in Greece. My Professor, Marcella Pisani, and the Assistant
Director at the Canadian Institute, Jonathan Tomlinson, are friends and
for this reason, my professor recommended that I apply for an internship
with the Canadian Institute in Greece.
I began my two month internship at Canadian Institute in Greece on June 1
st,
and my first task was to catalogue new books and periodicals that were
published in different languages (Greek, English, French, German and
Italian). The vast majority of the books contained information about
ancient Greek pottery and archaeological sites in the Mediterranean
because the Canadian Library’s primary focus is on Mediterranean
archeology, especially Greek. Another task was to scan and to digitize
various documents. During this period I have had the opportunity to meet
different people from many countries, whilst staying in the Institute’s
guest accommodations, located on the third floor of the same apartment
building as the Institute’s office and library.
I also assisted at the institute’s colloquium that took place on June 10 and 11, entitled “
From Maple to Olive: A colloquium to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Canadian Institute in Greece”.
The Colloquium took place in the auditorium of the Italian School and
it consisted of two days of papers focusing on Canadian contributions to
archaeological research in Greece. My main duty was to receive the
guests and the speakers of the colloquium and I prepared the guest book
for registration.
One of the best experiences of my internship at the Canadian Institute
was the opportunity to visit the excavation at the site of Ancient
Eleon, in eastern Boeotia. The site of Eleon is a current CIG fieldwork
project directed by Dr. Brendan Burke (University of Victoria) and Dr.
Bryan Burns (Wellesley College). On June 15, Jonathan, David, his wife
Metaxia and I visited the site and saw the project’s apothekes below the
site in Arma. Here the cleaned sherds were laid out by excavations
locus. It was a very interesting excursion!
My favorite place in Athens is Filopappos Hill, also called the Hill
of the Muses, because it offers excellent views of Attica and the
Saronic Gulf, well-signed ruins and some of the very best vantage points
for photographing the Acropolis. It’s a fantastic place!
Also I visited the Archaeological site of Eleusis, Ancient Corinth
and the ruins of Acrocorinth. The ruins of Acrocorinth are my favorite
place and I was to climb to the top of the hill. The climb yielded a
beautiful view of the Peloponnese, and was perfect for taking pictures.
I would like to thank David Rupp, the Director of the Institute, and
Jonathan Tomlinson, the Assistant Director, for the opportunity to
conduct my internship at the CIG. I would also like to thank my
colleague, York University intern Terry Tsilfidis.
Claudia Tozzi
Erasmus intern, summer 2016
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