Volunteering in ITALY

To search for projects currently available in Italy please visit the VFP Open Projects Directory.

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	“Our accommodations were much better than I imagined. We were in a little house, and there were two bedrooms with bunk beds- one room for the girls, and one room for the boys. We had a big bathroom, kitchen, and a beautiful porch which overlooked Tuscan olive farms and the Mediterranean. It was picturesque. We were given bikes so after the labor was over, we could ride the 8km to the beach everyday. We had a lot of freedom at the end of the day…. There were nine volunteers. Eight of us were all college aged from France, Serbia, Turkey, Belgium, Hungary and Sweden.” Christina De Simone ~ 2009
	At a project in Napoli working with children. Volunteers were involved in sport and leisure activities at the summer camp organised to keep children aged 4-13 away from the street. Barbara Veltri / Italy ~ 2008
	An archaeology project. Jessica Rains / Italy ~ 2006
	A construction project. Stephanie Matt / Italy ~ 2005
	Volunteers from Denmark, Slovakia, France, Germany, Belgium, Serbia, Spain and United States helped at a children's camp. Nicole Patno / Italy ~ 2005
	Maintaining an old footpath "I took part in the the work camp ItaLeg60-04 in Santo Stefano di Sessanio in Italy in August. The workcamp was a great experience - I met some friends I'll keep indefinitely, and I have wonderful memories that I'll treasure. Aside from bonding during work, we also were able to teach each other our native languages, and enjoy the natural beauty of the mountains together. Volunteer work camps are definitely something that I'll keep in mind in the future when I have time off school! I'm glad that I spent my vacation this way." Eric DeGiuli / Italy ~ 2004
	"All the volunteers got along well as well as the Italian counselors of the children's camp. The children were great. The Italian counselors of the children's camp always had our days planned out and made sure there was never any downtime for the kids. It was very easy work from a volunteer standpoint as we just had to play with kids (just the way I like it)" Robert Biggs / Italy ~ 2004
	Firefighters take a break. Micaela Kamp / Italy ~ 2003
	"We enjoyed getting to know the local people as we worked with them each day at the vegetarian food booth at the anti-racist festival. Developing those friendships that overcome language and cultural barriers is an experience not soon forgotten." Jill Greene/ Italy ~ 2002
	Restoring ancient stairs in the Cinque-Terre. "The magic of this space is difficult to transmit: view of the Mediterranean stretching more than 210 degrees, the scent of the "macchia" (coastal brush), the utter calm and quiet under the sun." Marya Dumont / Italy ~ 2001
	Restoring Atzara Social Center for use by young people of the village. "..the experience working with the children in the village and helping to reconstruct their social center was fantastic, it was all I could have hoped for, I look forward to doing another workcamp very soon!" Sarah Yarian / Italy ~ 1998

“I had the privilege of volunteering in Italy for 2 weeks with an amazing team made up of a Tunisian (our fearless leader), an Italian, a Finn, an American (me), a Bulgarian, 3 Poles, 2 Spaniards, a German, a Russian, a Greek, and about 15 Afghan refugees. The Italian organization that hosts this project each summer, Forum Solidarieta, has some amazing people working for it. The project involved working to set up, clean, & tear down for an annual multicultural festival that itself, lasted 2 weekends, a total of 5 evenings.” Elizabeth Klauer ~2009

“Hello and thank you very much for asking my opinion about my experience in Italy.I should say that Iwas going with some hesitation as the project was geared to the young. However, from the first day I was welcome by the young and "not that young" with genuine friendliness and respect. I spent two weeks in Eboli, a medieval town with interesting history and truly representative of the south of Italy life. The days were structured with work and fun things to do. The director of the project there took us for a tour of the medieval area, giving us information as we walked through. She was from the area and knew interesting details. She introduced us to people as we went along, encouraging us to return in our own.That is what I did and I had a great time. Some of the volunteers were from Eboli and they invited us to theirs homes,had dinner with their families, knowing them, exchanging information about our countries and families. Also, as part of the project we were in Pontecagnano, another small town close by. We were there for 3 days, participating in a festival and having more opportunities to be expose to the region music and dances. It was hard to say good by to Eboli as we moved to Paestum a beautiful archeologic area close to the sea with beautiful views and much history. Also,they took us to visit the ruins there and to visit other small towns close by. A weekend was spent in the Picentini mountains, was a great experience as we work there with children and we had the opportunity to meet other Italians volunteers .The accommodations were very good, we eat very well and had many opportunities to make friends with whom I talk in Spanish, French, English and Italian!!!!!.I had to leave friends behind but I maintain contact through e-mails
I would like very much to return next year and to work again with LEGAMBIENTE,a great organization and well respected.” Nelly Diaz ~ 2009

“My weeks working with young children in the Barra ( Napoli) region of Italy during June and July 2008 were times I will never forget. I met other young volunteers from eight other countries who supported the development of kids ages 3-14 in areas of recreation, English-language learning, sport, dance and friendship. 
I was immersed among people, children and adolescents who were=2 0welcoming. We shared songs, meals and activities together. I learned to drink strong Napoli caffee and experienced learning the language from kids who were four years old who quizzed me on the names and colors of animals toy figures. 
I brought a pre-school sized baseball and bat set and found cardboard bases to teach my early childhood group the fundamentals of baseball. When they hit the ball off of a regulation size orange work 'cone" and ran to first, they ended up taking the bat with them. It was hilarious! Salute!" Barbara Velti / Italy ~ 2008

“After these two experiences, I plan on participating in workcamps every year. I can’t think of a better way to travel, meet newe people and work for a good cause. It is amazing on how your outlook on the world can change when you have friends that live in every corner.” Angela Speece / Italy ~ 2007

"My trip to Naples made me feel like I was changing the world for the better even if I was just making a difference in one small elementary school in one small suburb in one small part of the planet. My trip has helped me make major decisions about my career path and I will be signing up for child development classes in the near future at our local community college to become a teacher. In addition I have contacted an Italian tutor to begin learning more advanced Italian language skills. I have kept in touch with some of the tutors and spoken to them about coming back and working at the same camp with the same kids." Gina Luz / Italy - 2006

"I went to renovate a fountain but found a threshold from a 4th century (or before) sacred temple. The fountain was a meagerdrip that came out of a pipe underneath a road. But in previouscenturies (through the 17th century) women gathered water from that spring and walked into the woods where a centuries old altar poked its way out of the forest. They rubbed the water on their breasts so they would have good milk for their babies. On the first day the volunteers from VFP and their participating country's groups, saw only the two large stones surrounded by rubble. There were volunteers from Turkey ,Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, France, and Canada. Fourteen of us all together, three women in their late 50's and 60's…..the rest were between the ages of 18 and 23. We worked hard with pick axes, trowels, hands and fingers. We sat in the dirt day after day, supervised by two archaeologists from Pescara, and dug that temple and a subsequent medieval church, out of the rubble. We found large pieces of Roman Columns, a threshold, bits of pottery and glassn and door entrances. There was a lot of excitement because we unearthed more than they expected. The mayor of the little 300 person town of Abbateggio came often. The photographer from Pescara came. An important archaeoligist who fairly quivered with excitement. The head of the Pescara museum dug with us. And we kept digging. And that was fabulous. The rest was problematic. Things were not really well planned in terms of getting us around. There was never enough transportation. When there was, it was late...very late. When my friend and I arrived in the nearby town after traveling for two days to get there, we were not picked up for two hours. One evening we were told there was a folk festival in nearby San Valentino but the head of our group said she had no idea how we would get there or back! We had too much free time……the kids loved that. They partied until 3:00 every morning and then almost fell over in the dirt the next day while digging. The mix of older (!) and young was not a problem. The hours were. The kid's hours were different than ours…the music blared into the night. The food was pasta and more pasta. No protein! We were housed in a preschool and everything was little……..for 4 year olds…..including the toilets! The less said about that the better. The town was superb. Little streets dotted with old people after the hot sun went down. No restaurant, no little store. Outside the town at the top of a hill was a little bar and a little shop where you could buy a few items. We were certainly made to feel welcome by the village people, the adorable 36year old mayor, the vice mayor, the young Italians on their scooters. This was the first year for this Legambiente work camp. Maybe they can iron out the kinks next year." Jessica Rains / Italy - 2006

"I got to see places and meet people that I otherwise wouldn't have. I felt like an ambassador of sorts, as some of the people I was with had never spent time with an American before. As always, I learned a lot, both about myself and others, and I'm already looking forward to next year." Lina Lenberg / Italy - 2006

"I took part in the the work camp ItaLeg60-04 in Santo Stefano di Sessanio in Italy in August. The workcamp was a great experience - I met some friends I'll keep indefinitely, and I have wonderful memories that I'll treasure. Aside from bonding during work, we also were able to teach each other our native languages, and enjoy the natural beauty of the mountains together. Volunteer work camps are definitely something that I'll keep in mind in the future when I have time off school! I'm glad that I spent my vacation this way." Eric DeGiuli / Italy - 2004

"My workcamp experience was one of the most satisfying and certainly unique experiences in my life…" Judy Merchant / Italy - 2004

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