Buona sera!
Today was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far, even though I wasn’t even expecting it to crack my top 5.
We had our media visit at Enel, the biggest energy company in Italy. Now you might be asking the same thing I was originally – why would a bunch of broadcast students be going on a MEDIA visit to an ENERGY company?
Well, it turns out that they have a phenomenal internal communications system, including radio, television, magazines, social media, and newsletters, among other forms of media.
After taking a very long tram ride across Rome to get there, we were greeted and taken to what was labeled a “CREAcTIVE” space – get it? Creative and active – innovative use of words.
It was super cool inside, complete with pantone chairs of various colors, a spinny chair that I will have a video of shortly, and individual bags for all of us with free umbrellas! (If only we would’ve gotten those yesterday for the downpour…)
We listened to a short lecture from Ivano Ferioli, the head of global internal communications for Enel. He basically broke down where their centers are located globally, what their demographic is, how they hit their audience, and the different methods in which they effectively do that.
Following Ivano’s presentation, we split into groups and got to go on Enel’s television set! Josh interviewed me for 3-4 minutes about my previous experiences in Italy and what I was looking forward to most on the rest of our trip. (We will have the video at a later date, which I will post on here.)
When we got back to the hostel, I immediately fell asleep and took a very lovely nap. Then the broadcast students (Josh, Casey, Emma, Kayla, and I) left around 5 via taxi to head to Marlon Brando’s old apartment to set up for the dinner experience we had.
Basically, the five of us got to shoot footage to make a commercial for the business while the rest of the students got to make homemade pasta. We will each be creating an individual video from that, so stay tuned for those on this website as well!
We also got to eat the food that everyone made, and it was delicious. Matteo surprised us all with wine and limoncello during and following the gnocchi, ravioli, and panna cotta.
Josh, Casey, Emma, and I stayed behind for a quick interview with the head chef of the evening and he took us into the ancient ruins that were beneath the floor!! It was such an incredible experience, and definitely one that almost no one gets.
Since it was Andrea’s last night with us, most of our group went out to celebrate for a little bit close to where we ate.
It was a late night, but we definitely ended our time in Rome with a bang!
Off to Assisi tomorrow for a quick one-day stop before Florence.
Ciao!