Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture collection

Italian-born engineer, inventor, and philanthropist Cesare Barbieri created a financial endowment in his name on December 31, 1947, in order to benefit outreach projects pertaining to Italian education and culture both in the United States and in Italy. Trinity College received its first funds ($10,000) from the Cesare Barbieri Endowment in 1956 and again in 1957. These funds were used to strengthen the teaching of Italian at Trinity in many ways, specifically through the purchase of books and journals, and the establishment of a lecture series. Additionally, these funds were used to bring two students from Italy to study at Trinity for one year. In 1958, Trinity received a final, significantly larger donation of $100,000 which was used to establish the Cesare Barbieri Center of Italian Studies (later renamed the Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture), the object of which was to stimulate interest in Italian language and culture at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as to encourage scholarly research, student and faculty exchange programs, and to foster public interest in Italian studies. The Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture is a central component of Trinity College's Rome Campus program (established in 1970), as well as its Elderhostel program (established in 1981).

In 1969, Trinity College graduate and professor of modern languages Michael Campo traveled to Rome with the idea of establishing Trinity's first study-away program there. He envisioned an academically challenging program that would broaden the horizons of its students through experiential learning in a world-class city. In the summer of 1970 Trinity sent 112 students from colleges and universities around the United States to Rome to study language, literature, fine arts, studio arts, archaeology, anthropology, music, religion, and sociology. Students lived on the centrally located Aventine Hill in a convent as guests of the order of Camaldolese Nuns who resided there. As a result of the program's popularity, full-semester programs were initiated in the fall of 1971 and spring of 1973. In addition to those from Trinity College, faculty also came from colleges and universities around the country.

The program was not without problems, as was to be expected when a few people were responsible for managing every aspect of its administration. Because Michael Campo was living in the United States and teaching at Trinity in Hartford, he could not always be present in Italy to administer the program there. The nuns, though living on-site, were not always willing or reliable enough to handle issues of security. This lack of management necessitated an on-site resident director in Italy, which in 1979 was assigned to two people, an Administrative Director to oversee the day-to-day operations of the program, and a Director of External Affairs to help maintain the program's public image and to handle financial transactions in Italy and the United States. By 1985, however, the two positions were combined into one position, which was filled by Livio Pestilli (who already was Administrative Director). A native Italian and art history teacher, Pestilli managed the program effectively, helping Trinity to overcome legal obstacles and take the program to the next level. (As of 2015, Pestilli was still serving as Resident Director and teaching classes.)

The local situation and political turmoil within Italy sometimes affected how the campus operated. When summer program numbers dwindled, the nuns felt obligated (for financial reasons) to allow more outside groups to reside there, which in turn, disrupted the Trinity students' ability to live and study as they needed. As a result, summer programs in the mid-1980s were relocated to a nearby hotel. Over time, other issues arose regarding Italian labor and tax laws, as occurred when the Italian government fined foreign institutions for not having followed these laws properly. A threatened law suit from a disgruntled Italian employee in 1975 ultimately resulted in Trinity changing the name of its program to the Barbieri Center Rome Campus and functioning as a commercial entity. Because of complicated rules regarding the payment of Italian taxes, in the late 1980s Trinity again was compelled to change its name and status from the Barbieri Center Rome Campus (a commercial entity), back to Trinity College Rome Campus (a non-profit). The program began operating as a non-profit under a new agreement with the Italian government on January 1, 1990. Additionally, in other years both the summer and semester programs had to be cancelled due to the threat of political violence and terrorist activity, including the Gulf War in 1991.

In 1989, Michael Campo resigned from his position as director of the Rome Campus program to more fully focus his attention on the expansion of Trinity's Elderhostel program, which had begun operating in the summer of 1983 and had become increasingly popular over time. With Campo's resignation, Trinity changed the scope and title of the Rome Campus program director and hired a new Director of Italian Programs, Borden W. Painter, a Trinity College graduate, professor of history, and former Dean of Faculty. Painter also had served as faculty at the 1971 Rome summer program and as its director in 1974 and was passionate about Italy. He brought with him the idea of creating an Italian Studies interdisciplinary minor, which helped to further integrate the Rome Campus program as part of Trinity College's curriculum. Together with Michael Campo and Borden Painter, another Trinity College graduate, Robbins Winslow, helped to administer the Rome Campus program through his position as Director for Educational Services (which administered all study-away programs) and as program coordinator for the Rome Campus through the mid-1990s.

Over the years the Trinity College Rome Campus program has evolved to meet the changing needs of its constituents while also striving to maintain its strong origins. The program continues to offer a broad liberal arts curriculum alongside opportunities for fieldwork, internships, and excursions throughout Italy not only to Trinity College, Hartford students, but to students from around the United States. The Rome Campus remains the flagship program of Trinity's study-away offerings, having celebrated 50 years in 2020.