Andrews Archaeology Influences Italian Architect

When she visited Jordan for the first time in 1996, Italian architect Maria Elena Ronza described her experience as “mind-blowing”.

Coming from La Sapienza University of Rome, Ronza was drawn to the Middle East in general and Jordan in particular for the country’s Roman stone architecture and the adaptation of Roman urban design to existing cities.

“I started studying Petra’s architectural orders and that became the subject of my dissertation,” she told The Jordan Times in a recent e-mail interview. 

...The next summer, right after her graduation, she volunteered with the Tell Hisban project, conducted under the leadership of Professor Oystein Labianca from Andrews University in Michigan.

“At Tell Hisban, I started to be exposed to the concepts of community archaeology and sustainable development, which became my passion years later,” the architect said, adding that she moved to Jordan in 2001.

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