Instead of spending your summer on the shore of the beach or flipping burgers in a warm kitchen, why not travel to the small country of San Marino, located in Italy, and get a hands-on experience with ancient and medieval art?

For the first time ever, Oakland University has partnered with the University of San Marino, offering students of any major the opportunity to learn about art history as well as its conservation from May 9 to June 3 on an introductory course level.

“This program is unique because it’s not just art history; it is art conservation and restoration as well,” said Andrea Eis, associate professor of art and chair of the department of art and art history. “It’s going to be a wonderful experience for students, and seeing actual historical monuments is so much different in person. It’s also interesting because there is no prerequisite or prior art history courses required to go.”

Students attending get a hands-on experience in the labs working with the artifacts and are given access to museums and restoration facilities in San Marino and Italy, according to Susan Wood, art history professor and “ringmaster” of the trip.

“(San Marino Professors) would be delighted to get chemistry majors and engineers — people with that kind of technical skill and scientific knowledge, because those are wonderful preparations for conservation,” Wood said.

The $3,300 program fee includes a stay in 2-4 person apartments at the USM Montegiardino campus, transportation and hotels on all field trips, entrance fees to archeological sites and museums, and all conservation/restoration laboratories and workshops.

To help with the costs, art history majors with at least a junior class standing and art history alumni are able to apply for the John B. Cameron travel award in Art History.

“We’re trying to cut the cost down as much as we can because we want it to be affordable,” Wood said. “The price includes some food, housing, travel costs and all the field trips. The Cameron scholarship wouldn’t cover the entire cost, but it would certainly help students out.”

Students can also apply for an art and art history grant.

As for field trips, students are going to be traveling a lot, since the best way to learn is to “get out and explore,” Wood said.

“We actually calculated that there is only going to be one Sunday that is completely free for students,” Wood said. “Every weekend is going to be full of overnight trips to Rome, Florence and other cities, and there are going to be a lot of day and half-day trips as well.”

The trip isn’t entirely a vacation though. Students will also be taking classes taught by professors at USM, various professors from all over Italy and by Wood herself.

“This is our pilot program,” Wood said. “It’s going to be an interdisciplinary course. There will be some art history, some conservation, some military history because there are some fascinating old fortresses around there and I’ll be teaching a few classes, but I’m not going to be doing more than a third of the teaching at most. The professional conservationists at the USM will be teaching those classes and leading labs.”

A $500 deposit for the program is due on March 1. Students interested in learning more about the program can contact Wood by e-mail at [email protected]