La Casa Italiana

Residence Information

Residence Type: Self-Op

House Size: 51 residents

Theme/Program Name: Italian Language & Culture House

House Description

Casa Italiana is a 51-resident, self-op theme house located on the Lower Row between Bob and Xanadu. It was established in 1976 for students interested in Italian language and culture. Room configurations vary with everything from singles to one two room quad, with a considerable number of one and two-room doubles. Assignments into rooms within the house are done based on preassignment criteria (ie residents' varying dedication with the Italian theme) and seniority.

Traditionally, a large majority of residents come to the house with some Italian language experience but all residents are expected to participate in theme -related events and the in-house seminar. Because of it's location on the lower row and the open architecture of the house, Casa is often a noisy and social house. In addition to Italian-related events like weekly Italian-language dinners (Tavola) and quarterly Pizzeria, Casa often plans general social events (parties, progressives). As a fully-functioning self-op Casa has the traditional six staff positions (RA, CM, FM, KM, and RCC) as well as a theme assoiciate (who coordinates theme related events and programming) and a live-in graduate student resident who works with the ATA an teaches the Casa in-house seminar.  Our chef, Jose, has been with us for over 13 years and is a Casa staple- you will never want for good food!