University Study Abroad Programs in Rome

The Pantheon Institute is a full service study abroad provider, offering the highest level of University academic programs in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Liberal Arts, Integrative Arts and International Business.

A message from the Institute’s President and Founder, Romolo Martemucci:

I have one of the world’s best jobs. I administer a program that teaches architecture and the arts in Rome to students who, for the most part, are abroad for the first time. Architecture and the arts are important because they reflect and pattern our lives. We move through the patterns of our streets, buildings and spaces. Teaching the cultural meaning of this in Rome means doing it in the most effective setting imaginable.

The Pantheon Institute in Rome evolved from The Penn State Sede di Roma Program in Rome (1988-2009) and was the result of an initiative, taken in 1988 by the faculty of the department of Architecture to improve the quality of instruction and of student work resulting from the foreign study option in Italy then available to PSU students. At that time only 8 to 10 students each year participated in the program.

Since then and as a direct result of my vision for the program, we have increased the numbers to a comprehensive yearly enrollment of over 250 students, made the Rome semester a curricular requirement for Architecture and until recently, Landscape Architecture majors at PSU, acquired permanent academic and residential spaces in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj and at the Santa Maria in Capella complex in Trastevere, and established collaborative relationships with the major Roman universities, both Italian and foreign. Most importantly, the academic quality has steadily improved.  

Some of the most qualified instructors I’ve known teach alongside me in this endeavor. The original architecture program has grown to include  engineering, integrative arts, fine arts, liberal arts, business courses and Italian studies.  We are effective in coordinating all the courses we teach and cover efficiently all the material required of our accredited professional programs in architecture and landscape architecture and more. The recent very favorable report by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) visiting team is witness to this. “The Rome Program is one of the greatest strengths of the {architecture} curriculum.” (NAAB Accreditation Team Visit Report, Penn State, 2006). This most positive program evaluation by seasoned professionals led by a committee Chair who has evaluated over 30 other university programs of architecture, makes me very proud of the work that is being done in Rome by our students and by our faculty.