“It is the most fascinating and complicated room in the Ducal Palace,” says American tourist Martin.

This tourist is commenting upon the Studiolo —the private study –of Lord Federico III da Montefeltro who, from 1444 to 1474, ruled Urbino and much of what is now the region of Marche.
The Ducal Palace became a museum– the National Gallery of Le Marche in 1912. The Studiolo to this day is a prime feature of the palace.

The American tourist Martin is looking to illustrations on the lower part of wall.

Lord Montefeltro was a landmark figure of the Renaissance and nicknamed “The Light of Italy” for his contributions to enlightened culture. He followed humanist principles as a ruler. He also employed the best copyists and editors of his era to create the most comprehensive library outside of the Vatican.

Montefeltro was an active supporter of the Arts patronizing the early education of Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, the master painter Raphael who lived in Urbino.

“It [the Studiolo] is a room which was created as the Duke’s most private room, in which he retired in order to read and study about his greatest passion–humanistic culture,” says Alessandro Marchi, the Superintendent of Art in Urbino.

The ornate wood panels located on the lower walls of the study and designed by Benedetto da Maiano’s Florence workshop include images of the armor Duke Federico wore in battle. An adjacent panel shows him dressed in a casual tunic, the clothing he wore when entering his private study.

Duke Federico’s armor and his portrait with casual dress in the Studiolo

On the uppermost walls of the Studiolo are portraits of philosophers, mathematicians, poets and Popes who were inspirational people in the life of Lord Montefeltro and in European culture: people like Dante, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Gregory the Great. 

Of the 28 original portraits in the Studiolo, only 14 of them remain. Art historian Marchi explains, “The Barberini family [an aristocratic Roman family of the 16th century] took the paintings away that resided in the upper area of the walls, and today we only have half of them since those paintings were divided for inheritance reasons. Half [14] of those paintings were bought back by the Italian government…but the other half is in the Louvre museum in France.”

You can tell which of the oil paintings are missing because those portraits are actually sepia colored photographs of the originals.

Aside from the absence of the original paintings, the Studiolo remains much the same way Lord Montefeltro experienced it. And according to museum administrators, more than 200,000 visitors are sharing that experience each year.

Even the air of the hotel dining room seemed light and bright. Ropes of multi-colored flags lined the walls, and vibrantly hued balloons bounced around. “Benvenuto amici,” Alessandro Bedini said to each group that entered, adding a hug or a warm handshake.

Glass pitchers brimming with Marche wine beckoned from the tables. Whiffs of freshly baked bread lured guests into filling the vacant chairs.

When the guests were seated, the antipasto was served. Thoughtfully composed, each plate held a small mound of lightly dressed spinach topped with chopped nuts and a petite portion of marinated liver.

“Fegato è molto importante”—liver is very important—announced Daniela Storoni, Bedini’s wife and mastermind of the menu. She explained that the chemical composition of “good-mood” foods triggers the production of neurotransmitters that control thoughts, emotions, and mood. Liver contains vitamin B-12, which is scientifically linked to strong mental health.

Before long, the room became filled with sounds of joy. Grandmothers jumped up to belt out the “Tarantella,” a fast-paced folk song. Young and old shook their hips to the beat of the music.

As Alessandro Bedini, director of the Academy of Laughter, watches, two participants enjoy a game of pop-the-balloon during the “Dinner of Cheerfulness.”

For Bedini, this was more than just a boisterous dinner party. It was therapy in action, a “Dinner of Cheerfulness,” held at Urbino’s Hotel La Meridiana and designed to relieve stress and lighten the spirit. Bedini is the head of the Accademia Della Risata—the Academy of Laughter—founded in 2006.

The Academy is a non-profit association dedicated to enlightening Marche citizens about the benefits that laughter, good humor, and positivism have for physical and psychic well-being. Throughout the year, the Academy holds a variety of workshops for hospital patients, nurses, students, teachers, and corporation personnel.

Studies have shown that laughter—whether real or fake—can heal the body and spirit. As a psychologist for Urbino’s Health One Hospital, Bedini teaches that happiness can be found everywhere if you just “reach into your pocket and pull out a smile.”

Bedini’s cheerful office is an unexpected relief from the gloomy and windowless hallways of the rest of the hospital. Colorful abstract artworks cover the walls of his narrow office. A collection of multi-colored books about famous artists such as Picasso and Raphael stand alphabetically on the top shelf of a tall bookcase.

Bedini reaches over and points to a book, Anatomy of an Illness, lying on a shelf of his crammed bookcase. In this 1979 memoir, journalist Norman Cousins described his battle with a serious and painful skeletal disease. Cousins, also referred to as the modern father of laughter therapy, “made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give [him] at least two hours of pain-free sleep.” Cousins’ attributed his recovery to doses of self-prescribed laughter therapy.

Bedini works to spread cheer in his office through colorful artworks.

Inspired by Cousins’ memoir, Bedini began developing programs devoted to spreading laughter throughout the Marche region. A few years ago, he created the program “A Smile in the Ward,” dedicated to promoting individual wellness for both the employees and patients of the Heath One Hospital.

Bedini has worked closely with Patch Adams, America’s best-known laugher therapist to divide “A Smile in the Ward” into three program areas. Adams writes on the Gesundheit Institute website that “the well-being of the staff is as important as the well-being of the patients.”

The first area is “A Smile in the Ward: Soul Tour.” Working inside the hospital walls, this program incorporates the techniques of comicoterapia—the use of laughter, jokes, music, and comedy—to spread cheer to hospitalized patients. Bedini tells his patients “your problem is not a mountain, and it can be overcome.”

The second area concerns “Training of Health Personnel,” which works to strengthen the bond between nurses and their patients by communicating positivity and encouragement.

The third area, “Wellness Project,” is designed to improve working conditions while raising awareness of methods for reducing stress. In coordination with the University of Urbino, Bedini provides psychology students with hands-on experience within all three areas of the “Smile in the Ward” program.

Once Bedini recognized the healing value of these techniques, he expanded his programs to include schools and corporation. In schools of all levels, he takes children through a seminar called “The Hours of Smiles” to give students the tools to improve classroom performance, reduce stress from examinations, and increase self-esteem to help reduce bullying.

A participant learns to fly her kite against the backdrop of the Urbino hills.

With corporations, Bedini and his assistants teach employers to create humor within the workplace to better relieve stress and handle office politics.

Back at the hotel dining room, a man sporting a tuxedo jacket, red-and-black parachute pants, a floppy orange hat circled by a red-and-white polka-dot ribbon, and a red rubber nose was instructing the crowd to make kites. This man was Sirto Sorini, 81, and better known as Clown Geppo.

First, Geppo enlightened the crowd with a brief history of kiting. “Kites are symbols of joy and the desire to smile,” he said. Making them from recycled material, he said, sparks the imagination and creativity. Then he pulled out a cardboard box overflowing with colorful sheets of plastic, and, on cue, everyone rose to their feet eager to get started. These kites, Geppo told the crowd, are the same kites given to patients during the “Smile in the Ward” program.

At the beginning of the evening, everyone’s laughs had seemed staged and insincere. But since then, they had flown kites, sung karaoke, danced, and popped balloons that they had stuffed inside their shirts. Now the laughter was clearly genuine.

This article also appears in Urbino Now magazine’s Urbino Focus section. You can read all the magazine articles in print by ordering a copy from MagCloud.

URBINO, Italy - Five University of Urbino students have taken their computer coding skills out of the classroom and into the world of mobile gaming. The objective of the game, “Holy Sheep”, is to ease the fall of a sheep from the sky, tapping left and right to hit grass patches that slow the character down. Get stuck on a patch, hit a bad brick, or fall too quickly and it’s game over. Originally the group did not anticipate releasing the game to the public, but after deciding to do so the application, or app, gained appeal.

The web page for Dot5 allows the team to show off their work and market their game.

Alessio Marzoli, Marco Mignano, Romeo Violini, Edoardo Spadoni, and Ilaria Di Meo, who call themselves Dot5, created “Holy Sheep” in 2013, and released it in April 2014. The team is now working toward a future in mobile application development and is already beginning the code and design of their next mobile game. Dot5 aspires to score high in the technology world without hitting any walls or falling to the ground like the sheep in the game.

However, the group realizes its small office in nearby Fermignano will not provide enough space and resources to allow their careers to grow. The team members are facing the challenge of deciding whether to build their existing company in Fermignano, split up to work for larger Italian businesses, or move to a more technology-friendly country where they believe the demand for app developers is greater. Dot5 team member Marco Mignano explains, “in Europe, 80 percent of [tech] companies that start in Italy move to the U.K. … it’s a must.”

This desire to go abroad arises not just from the opportunities in other countries, but also from the lack of technology startups in Italy. “Italy doesn’t have a tradition in spinoffs and startups,” says Alessandro Bogliolo, coordinator of Information Science and Technology at the University of Urbino. Bogliolo cites tight regulations and a lack of venture capitalists as reasons for the scarcity of Italian startups.

These entry barriers worry Italian students like Marco, who are seeking employment after graduation. Marco and the rest of Dot5 are considering a move to other countries like the United States or the United Kingdom to begin their careers. Marco, who visited the U.S. in August of 2012, says “I saw big difference in the mentality for games in the U.S. Here in Italy it is kind of different. We are more closed. The state doesn’t help tech companies.” 

The computer lab at the University of Urbino offers a great central meeting spot for the members of Dot5.

According to a study published in the World Bank’s Doing Business Project, it costs 14.2 percent of per capita income to start a business, not just a technology startup, in Rome, Italy. Compare that to London with 0.3 percent per capita income cost, or New York City with 1.5 percent.  Additionally, an annual World Bank study gives countries an index ranking based on the ease of doing business. The ranking is based on ten business regulation topics including tax rates, property registration, licensing, and employment. The study ranks Italy as 83rd in the ease of doing business, the U.K. as sixth and the U.S. as fourth.

One Spanish technology company called Fon faced the challenge of expanding its business in Italy.  Fon allows people to create hotspots and share bandwidth with other users, creating a crowdsourced worldwide network of shared WiFi. After attempting to expand into Italy, Fon eventually gave up due to compliance issues with Italian regulations. Dr. Bogliolo uses this company to illustrate how difficult it is “to do something which is innovative and technology related” in Italy. 

Bogliolo responds to these problems by teaching his students the skills they need to stand out in this job market. Bogliolo oversees initiatives through the School of Information Sciences and Technology that help improve the computer coding abilities of Italian students. One initiative in particular, called Code’s Cool, offers webinars that bring together students, teachers, and professionals throughout Italy to share and teach computer coding. Dot5 has appeared on a Code’s Cool webcast to explain their code and to answer questions.

Marco Mignano hard at work in the computer lab at the university. Marco often spends long hours in the lab to perfect his coding skills and to finish his applications.

Dot5’s utilization of these opportunities is what led to the creation of “Holy Sheep”. “We do not directly teach how to develop a mobile game,” said Dr. Bogliolo. “They took advantage of all the experiences and technology that they acquired at the university while trying to push it in a different direction.” 

When it comes to the decision to move to the U.K. or U.S., Dr. Bogliolo believes it is valuable to spend time abroad. However, he stresses “what is very important is to provide people with the skills to find a good job abroad, not just to migrate because there are no jobs in Italy. If you go abroad to find exactly the job you like, this is something which is an opportunity.”

While the opportunities to study abroad during school may be beneficial, Dr. Bogliolo feels students do not necessarily need to leave Italy to find a job or create a successful startup after they graduate. Bogliolo states “We are pretty satisfied with the job opportunities which are offered to our students and also the entrepreneurship they develop by themselves.” He also believes that students can become a force for innovation in a country that has fewer successful startups than the U.S. or U.K. “In countries which are less crowded with startups, you can try to make a greater difference. While in countries like the U.S., it is much harder to make a difference.” He adds: “The challenges are tough but they are worth being faced.”

One Italian startup, AppsBuilder, allows users to more effectively manage and promote their mobile applications. Since its creation in 2011 by Luigi Giglio and Daniele Pelleri of Milan, the company has received 2.5 million euro in funding from a combination of Italian venture capitals. While AppsBuilder is just one example of a successful startup in Italy, it gives hope to the members of Dot5 to continue developing apps and to work towards receiving funding from venture capitalists.

For Marco, a move to the U.S. is what he has always desired. He knows he may have some opportunity in Italy after he graduates, but he says, “USA is my dream … I saw another reality, something really different than Italy.” As for the rest of the team members of Dot5, they are uncertain what path they will take. Marco says, “My friends and I really love to make video games. We grew up with video games. This is our dream.“ It’s a dream that has yet to find a home.

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URBINO, Italy – As the doors to the unmarked synagogue in Urbino are unlocked and you enter, curiosity heightens, followed by a wave of emptiness. The light, sneaking through the shuttered windows of the sanctuary, breaks the dimness. The deafening silence raises questions as to what once transpired within this sacred house of worship.

The balcony inside the synagogue where women and girls gather to pray. By Orthodox tradition women and men are separated during services. In the Urbino synagogue the men are below and the women above.

It is a sanctuary of architectural beauty used in a traditional way, but rarely. There is no Rabbi here. No minyan, the Hebrew term for the group of 10 Jewish adult men necessary to conduct an Orthodox religious service. There are only a few known members, including Maria Luisa Moscati and Nadia Ciacci, who live in Urbino now. It is a diminishing Jewish community, and among the smaller cities in Italy, Urbino is not alone.

Maria Luisa’s family dates back to the 1400s in the Renaissance city of Urbino. Maria is the local caretaker of the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery outside the city. Nadia, a friend of Maria, has lived in Urbino for most of her life. Maria Luisa Moscati has written extensively about the history of Jews in Urbino including the books: Jewish Itineraries: Places, History and Art, and Synagogue of Urbino & History of the Ghetto.

During the Renaissance, writes Maria Luisa, and under the reign of the Montefeltro family, Jews lived throughout the community, worked in banking and other professions and shared many of the same rights as their Catholic neighbors: the right, for example, to buy, hold, and sell real estate and to employ Christian servants. By the second half of the 15th century, one-third of Urbino’s population was Jewish.

Beginning in 1508, many of the privileges that had once been granted to the Jews were taken away under the reign of Duke Francesco Maria. They were no longer permitted to acquire real estate or to act in the profession of banking and were compelled to wear the Badge, a mark intended to distinguish Jews from Catholics.  Sacred Jewish texts were confiscated and burned in the town square in 1533.

Discrimination against Jews increased dramatically after 1631 when the Duchy of Urbino was annexed to the Papal States and fell under the control of the Catholic Church. By 1633, and following an edict of Pope Urban VIII, the Jews of Urbino and Jews from eight other communities in the region were forced to leave their homes and move to a hastily created ghetto around Via Stretta—the street in Urbino where the synagogue was established and remains today.

Every time a Jewish family was forced into the ghetto in Via Stretta, a new level was built on existing buildings.

According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, at the outset of the ghetto 64 Jewish families – a total of 369 people – were living in an area enclosed by three portico style gates, stretching from Via Stretta uphill towards the Ducal Palace. Every time a new family was confined to the ghetto, a new level was built on top of the existing buildings to accommodate the forcibly closed community, making the ghetto even more constricted.  The gates of the ghetto were locked at night and Jews were not allowed to own property. They paid rent to their Catholic landlords and taxes to the Church in Rome. With few exceptions, they were banned from professions available to the general population.

The ghetto was very poor during the eighteenth century. Because of the high taxes, high rents, and limited professional opportunities, many Jews chose to leave Urbino while the ghetto was still in existence, preventing the population from growing. Outside the walls of the ghetto there were no economic opportunities for the Jews and therefore, little reason to stay in Urbino.

With the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolutionary army in 1797, Jews were liberated from the ghetto throughout the kingdoms, not just in Urbino. But that freedom lasted only a few years as the Restoration brought the restoration of the ghetto as well. Thereafter Jews were confined to the ghetto until Urbino was unified along with other territories into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Emancipation followed.

But the toll after two centuries of Papal-led discrimination was extensive. By 1901, the Jewish population had dwindled to 92 people. Urbino was not alone. Other Jewish communities in small Italian cities experienced sharp declines.

The locked gates to the Jewish cemetery in Urbino.

During the Holocaust, no known Jews from Urbino died at the hands of the Germans. Many Jews survived because they hid or were hidden by people in the surrounding countryside or in the homes of Catholic residents in the city. Following World War II some Jews, according to Maria Luisa, started families and showed their gratitude by naming their children after the Catholics who had saved them from extermination.

 “There’s a big difference because now the [Jewish] community is very small,” says Nadia. “In the past it was a lot bigger.” Today, the Orthodox synagogue in Urbino, restored in the 1970s, is used for occasional religious celebrations such as Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, or memorial services which can occur only with the participation of Jews from other communities. The exterior of the synagogue has no markings to set it apart from a multi-story residence.  The synagogue in the nearby town of Pesaro has closed and been converted into an exhibition room. The fate of the Urbino synagogue and its Jewish population appears uncertain.

Nadia goes to Ancona, a coastal city 35 kilometers from Urbino, for major Jewish holidays and festivals. The Jewish community in Ancona dates back to the tenth century. It is currently home to the most active Jewish community in the region of Marche with about 200 members, including members from surrounding towns with Jewish populations too small to support a synagogue and a Rabbi.

 “It’s very important to spend the festivities together,” says Nadia. For example, today the Saturday celebration, [part of the Jewish Sabbath] which is very important to the religion, no longer happens in Urbino because there are not enough people.” According to the Jewish faith, God spoke to men, not women, which explains why there needs to be at least ten adult Jewish men present. “No minyan, no celebration.”

According to Nadia, it is a shame that the Jewish community in Urbino has reached its current state because Jews contributed significantly to the city. In the past, there were large factories managed by Jews. They provided jobs and opportunities for Jews and non-Jews alike. Jews also donated to the city, including funds to build a cemetery for Italians who died in World War I.  A Jewish man purchased a former church and had it converted into a home for the elderly.

There is no discrimination against the Jewish community in Urbino today. However, the numbers are still low. The elderly pass away and the youth leave the city, not because of religious persecution, but because Urbino does not provide enough economic opportunities. Nadia’s daughter, Micol, age 39, lives in Israel, while her son, David, age 36, studies in England. While Maria Luisa Moscati has well documented the life of Jews in Urbino and their synagogue, it is mostly a story of the past.

 “It’s a pity that the Jewish community is dying because it is only her [Maria Luisa Moscati] who takes care of the cemetery and synagogue and when she is too old or who knows, maybe nobody will take care of it,” says Nadia. “It’s just a pity that the community is dying like that.”

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A powerful aroma of sweet perfume fills the air as the sun peaks through the ivory clouds on a warm afternoon in early June. Among the hills outside of Urbino lies a secret garden, unknown to many. The delicate, white painted sign at the end of the driveway reads, “Giardino delle rose perdute” (Garden of lost roses). Rolling hills of greens and browns can be seen for miles at the top of the hill. The town of Urbino sits below; the old brick walls seem small from up above. The only noise comes from a flock of birds flying overhead. Vibrant pinks and purples envelope you in a bed of roses. A woman stands among the roses chatting briskly on a cellphone, her purple shirt matching the flowers she stands between. She ends the call. Her calloused hands carefully pluck one of the purple roses and present it with a welcoming smile. This kind gesture invites you to the secret that is Rosetta Borchia’s ancient heirloom rose garden.

Combine three years of research, 15 years of collecting roses from abandoned cemeteries, and one determined, passionate woman, and you will find a magical garden of over 100 unfamiliar ancient roses hidden in the hills of Urbino. While the world was ringing in the new millennium in 2000, Rosetta Borchia was moving her husband, Angelo, and son, Giovanni, to a hillside house on the outskirts of Urbino. With an ample amount of land at her disposal, Borchia, a painter and nature enthusiast, became determined to build a virtual work of art. The spotting of a single rose on the side of the road sparked an idea and a passion. After deciding that this sighting was fate, she began her research on ancient roses in the Le Marche region. Today the garden is host to the one of most extensive and unique collections of ancient roses in the world.

Borchia’s passion for nature and more specifically for the beauty of flowers radiates from the wonder in her eyes as she recalls the blank canvas she started with many years ago. As a painter, she has an eye for artistic opportunities. Looking out over the vast, empty land, she knew that a garden full of rich colors and powerful scents was exactly what her home needed. One short back-country drive later and her imagination was ignited.

A pair of heirloom roses linger in the early days of June after the peak bloom season in May. Rosetta Borchia’s garden is home to more than 100 ancient varieties of roses.

As a young girl, Borchia dreamed of wanting to receive a single rose. “Now that I have all these roses it’s only fair for me to share them,” she says. The final product, “The Garden of Lost Roses,” has taken her 15 years to complete. The first three years were spent with her nose in books, reading and learning everything she could about ancient heirloom roses. After discovering that the majority of roses were located in old cemeteries throughout Italy, she began her search. With the help of the municipality of Urbino, she was granted access to the abandoned cemeteries of the region where she found the small treasures she was searching for.

As the sun shines down on a hot June afternoon, Borchia demonstrates what a typical searching day would be like. Clad in an olive green t-shirt with a subtle rose pattern gracing the front and a pair of gold rose earrings dangling from her ears, she treks through the remnants of an ancient, abandoned cemetery. Stick in hand to fend off the snakes, she walks through the long patches of overgrown weeds and grass. This is one of the many cemeteries she worked in day and night in hopes of finding an ancient rose to add to her garden. To the average eye the cemetery looks as though there could be nothing worth finding. Broken headstones and decaying structures scatter the ground, but Borchia knows exactly what she is looking for. Despite the discouraging look of the place, under a chaos of overgrown grass she points to the remnants of an ancient rose. “Right there you would have found the root of an ancient rose. I would take note of these during the blooming season and come back in the winter to dig it out so that I wouldn’t have to deal with this,” she says as she points in the direction of a snake slithering by.

Cemeteries such as these down bumpy back roads hold the treasures that Borchia cherishes. Throughout her search she remained dedicated, following wherever her research took her. “I would search from sunrise to sunset around Le Marche, Tuscany, Pesaro, and Rimini,” she says.

These heirloom roses are not the type of roses you will find at the cashier of your local supermarket. Ancient heirloom roses are from before the 18th century, making each individual flower a unique experience for your eyes to observe. Each flower is made of layers of intricately designed petals. Some speckled, some streaked, the roses combine to create a mosaic of rich hues throughout the garden.

Borchia stands among her flowers under one of the many trellises she has gradually added to her expansive garden overlooking the town of Urbino.

Although the green foliage and vine covered trellises can be seen throughout the year, the true spectacle begins in May when the roses begin to bloom. Heirloom roses bloom only once per year during the month of May, unlike modern roses which can be purchased at any time of year. This month holds a depth of possibility for nature to come alive and radiate a spectacle of pinks, purples, reds, and whites. The true awe in Borchia’s garden is not found in the upkeep of the garden, as it requires little to none—but in the attention to detail. Each rose contrasts the next, making the garden flow rhythmically from path to path.

Hidden behind thick purple glasses, Borchia’s dark hazel eyes glow with the intensity of her passion for the roses. She walks through the garden, confidently explaining each rose, subconsciously pulling out weeds as she goes. She stops and subtly scans the garden, amazed at her own accomplishment. “Sometimes I stop and look around and I can’t believe the garden has made it to this point,” she says. She created the garden she holds so dearly to her heart all on her own.

The sweet lingering scents and rainbow of pigments from milky white to scarlet red hold much history. “I didn’t know anything about these roses when I first started. I had to learn everything I could so that I would know what I was talking about when people asked questions,” Borchia says. Many of the ancient roses in her garden are painted in historical artworks including “The Madonna di Senigallia” by Piero della Francesca.

One of the most unique roses amongst the garden is one that she has not been able to find anywhere else. After coming across it years ago at a farm in Borgo Pace, 60 kilometres southwest of Pesaro, she took a root of the rose home for her garden. The dark magenta petals of the mystery flower highlight the bright yellow anther, the inner part of the rose. She does not have a name for this rose as she has never been able to find it throughout her years of researching both books and landscapes of Italy. She says that it is originally from a small village near Borgo Pace where, during the feast of Sant’ Eurosia, a Catholic saint whose feast day was celebrated on June 25, all women would walk to the top of the hill to take petals from this particular rose. “Maybe I will give the name to Sant’ Eurosia,” she says.

Borchia shows off one of her most unusual roses, a nameless variety that she discovered in the town of Borgo Pace and has not been able to find elsewhere.

Today Borchia is no longer on the hunt for ancient roses because she feels her garden is complete.“But if I came across a new one,” she says, “I wouldn’t think twice about taking it.”

Although the blooming season is short for these mysterious ancient roses, she has found a way to enjoy the flowers all year round. After the month of May, she uses the leftover petals to create her secret signature rose water. She boils water and sugar, adds lemon and rose petals to the pot, and lets it sit for two days. After bottling the sweet substance she simply adds sparkling water to create a tingling sensation for the taste buds.

Over the years Borchia has opened the garden up to the public, but is now keeping it private for friends and her family. She loves to share her artistic treasure, but she says it is too much work to have people visiting all the time.

Sitting at an antique white chair set, sipping on the bubbling pink water, Borchia looks over the masterpiece she has created as if she can’t believe that it is hers. “I don’t know if I will ever go to paradise” she says, “but I think I am already here.”

This article also appears in Urbino Now magazine’s Urbino Focus section. You can read all the magazine articles in print by ordering a copy from MagCloud.

What do you notice when you enter your doctor’s office?

Perhaps it is the smell of cleaning supplies and latex. It might be the stacks of month-old health magazines that few people have ever read. Most likely the décor is drab, so your eyes may be drawn to walls plastered with ads for new medications and signs reminding “Get your flu shot.” Or maybe it is the never-ending line of defeated-looking patients, heads in their hands after waiting so long to be seen.

But in this waiting room, you do not recognize any of these things. Instead, you smell fresh flowers and crisp linen. Your gaze lights on the many posters along bright green and white walls. They are “maps” of different body parts: eyes, ears, and feet, intriguing drawings with a cartoon quality and bright colors. And instead of waiting on a hard plastic chair, you sit on a couch of plush fabric while the receptionist offers water and cappuccino with a smile.

This office, a charming brick building, stands against a lush, green background of mountains on the outskirts of Urbino. The sign reads “Isituto di Medicina Naturale,” the Institute of Natural Medicine. The patients who come to the Institute are looking for a natural solution to their health problems, different from that offered by an MD, and that is exactly what they get. There are no Western doctors, and no prescription drugs.

More different still is the family who runs this business.

Antimo Zazzaroni welcomes patients into the Isituto di Medicina Naturale–the Institute of Natural Medicine. He and his family are celebrating 30 years of business.

The Zazzaronis sit at adjacent desks in an organized office on the Institute’s main floor, filing paperwork, answering calls, and organizing events. Maria Assunta Bordon, psychologist and director of studies at the Institute, becomes animated when explaining the core concepts of their approach to medicine. “It is very important to get to know your own body to understand your own needs,” she says, growing more excited. “You have to take care of the person not the symptoms.”

“Basta, basta!” exclaims her husband Antimo Zazzaroni—enough is enough! Zazzaroni, who is also director of public relations, places a careful hand on Bordon’s shoulder, signaling her to slow down her speech. Their son Enrico, the marketing manager, chuckles and shakes his head.

The Zazzaronis’ interest in a healthier lifestyle began when Antimo was suffering from digestive problems. At the time, he and his wife had steady jobs, but their passion for health and helping others drove them to share their experience of non-conventional medicine with others. And so, in 1983, the Institute of Natural Medicine was born.

Natural medicine, or naturopathy, is defined by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians as “a distinct primary health care profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process.” This process includes a variety of methods such as massage, acupuncture, and an individualized diet.

According to the World Health Organization, only 5,000 of Italy’s 250,000 physicians have used alternative medicine, statistics that mirror those in the United States. In Italy, only 24 percent of the adult population has ever used this type of treatment, while a study from 2007 showed that only 38.3 percent of American adults have.

But interest in natural medicine continues to grow, says Antimo. “There is more and more interest in consulting a naturopath, to work on primary prevention, especially for people of the female gender from 25 to 50 years old.”

The Institute of Natural Medicine is located outside of Urbino and features beautiful scenery for patients to enjoy.

In the beginning, when the field was relatively new, the Zazzaronis focused on education through courses and conferences on these various holistic topics.

In 1994, they opened the pride of their establishment, Scuola Italiana di Naturopatia, the Italian School of Naturopathy, now one of the oldest in the country. Students who enroll in this program must complete four years of coursework, as in the United States, before becoming a practicing naturopath. Each class has about 50 students who already have degrees in medicine but want to expand their expertise.

Massimo Volponi, an Urbino physician, attended the Italian School of Naturopathy from 2000 until 2004 after a magazine article prompted his interest in this type of medicine. “I was the only local student in my class,” says Volponi, “people travel from all over Italy to attend this school… Although there are many in the country, this one [in Urbino] is one of the best.”

None of the Zazzaronis teach in the classroom, yet they work closely with the students to ensure they receive the best education possible. Throughout the year, they also promote a series of free holistic medicine conferences while overseeing an office with a staff of eight, two secretaries, and six doctors, who provide services such as acupuncture, nutrition counseling, and massage.

Every October since 2007, the Institute has hosted in Urbino an event called “Biosalus,” a festival focused on organic and holistic wellness. Biosalus 2014 will be held on October 4 and 5. The theme country this year is Brazil, and the festival will focus on medicine from the Amazon with events such as “The Art of Healing through Music” and “The New Food for Peace.” Biosalus brings hundreds of people to the city, leaving an impression of not only health culture, but Italian culture as well.

For this family, Urbino is not only a beautiful location but also a place that enables them to focus on their well-being. “It is more complicated for them to work here than a big city,” comments Gabriele Cavalera, press secretary of Urbino and the Institute’s public relations assistant. “But they chose to have the Institute here because it would be contradictory to promote a healthy life in a city with traffic, pollution, and stress.”

The Zazzaronis work long hours but are careful to take care of themselves and each other. They eat well, using Bordon’s knowledge of what she calls “energetic cooking;” they make their home in a small, close-knit community and enjoy simple activities such as needle work and walks through the garden.

Antimo Zazzaroni explains, “[Working with your family is] not so easy, but a way to grow.” Bordon adds, “What joins us [the family] is that we are complementary.”

Mauro Cucci, a doctor at the Institute, performs acupuncture on a patient as a method of pain relief.

Their son Enrico had never planned on working with his parents. About 10 years ago, however, he desperately wanted to purchase a new motor bike and began helping them as a way to make money. He quickly realized how much he enjoyed organizing events, and his passion for the business grew.

Enrico says, “Family at work and family at home are one and the same.”

Antimo, Maria, and Enrico consider their staff as well as their students a part of their extended family. This “family” likewise sings the Zazzaronis’ praises. “Maria and Antimo are a truly wonderful couple with an immense amount of knowledge and great experience,” says Matt Traverso, health and wellness coach, in an online testimonial. “Their talents are blended to perfection, finding ideal application in the continuous development and improvement of people’s lives.”

For the Zazzaronis, family—whether natural or extended—is everything. “The great satisfaction,” says Antimo, “comes from the beautiful human relationship established with the students who attend the Italian School of Naturopathy. From them we get the urge to do better.”

This article also appears in Urbino Now magazine’s Urbino Centro section. You can read all the magazine articles in print by ordering a copy from MagCloud.