Organized by the Business Club (BizClub) at AUR, the outing to the Marino Wine Festival has become an annual fixture on the university’s social and cultural calendar.  Students eagerly gathered by the university gates, bright and early on the morning of Sunday, Oct 1st to board the bus to experience one of Italy’s classic traditions: the Sagra or Festa. Each region celebrates its typical culinary or agricultural products, and the Castelli Romani area is famous for its crisp white wines.
 
The 50 or so students who had signed up for the trip cheered as the bus departed for the medieval town of Marino. Upon arrival, students watched as workmen transformed the town’s main fountain into a giant wine dispenser, surely one of the highlights of the Sagra.
 
As students roamed the streets, sampling wines and typical local foods, they listened to loud church bells and the celebration of mass, which was broadcast over speakers throughout the town. Students wandered the narrow streets, stopping to buy sandwiches made with thick slices of the typical local roast pork, Porchetta. At around midday, the terrace atop the city opened giving visitors a breathtaking view of the endless panorama of the Castelli area. Inevitably, in true Italian fashion, a sing-along commenced. Traditional Italian melodies launched a lively dance-party and the music and general commotion even brought the Marino locals to their balconies to take part in the action.
 

The American University of Rome at Marino Wine Festival

 
The laughs and smiles on the AUR students’ faces demonstrated that the trip was surely a success! 
 
[Author: Noy Dragushansky, Business Administration student].