Summer Institute 2004 Information
To see the list of Summer Institute faculty and scholars, and their e-mail addresses, click here.
To view and print the readings for the Summer Institute, click here.
To view and print the schedule of activities, click here.
This page has the following information to help you prepare for the Summer Institute 2004:
Summer Institute Dates
Transportation between Milan Malpensa Airport and Hotel San Rocco
Passport/Visa
July Weather Averages
Italian Currency
Hotel San Rocco (check-in/out, room facilities, electricity, restaurant hours, dress code, laundry, copying)
Internet Access
Tipping
Banking/ATM
Phone Calling Card Access
Cell Phones
Supermarket
Car Rental Information
Driving Directions to/from Milan Malpensa Airport and Hotel San Rocco
SUMMER INSTITUTE DATES:
Arrival date for scholars: Thursday July 8, 2004
Activities will be held Friday July 9 through Tuesday July 13 (including July 13)
Departure date for scholars: Wednesday July 14, 2004
LINK TO LAKE ORTA (Lago D’Orta) WEBSITE: Click here
The Summer Institute hotel is located on this lake, in the village of Orta San Giulio.
TRANSPORTATION FROM MILAN MALPENSA AIRPORT TO THE HOTEL
To get from the airport to the hotel, you will use a shuttle service called “Meeting Milano.” I have made arrangements with this company as I believe it is the best shuttle service at the airport.
Rates: “Meeting Milano” told me they will honor the following rates to Lago d’Orta:
Car (4 passengers maximum) = 106 Euros (price is shared, not per passenger)
Van (6 passengers maximum) =132 Euros (price is shared, not per passenger)
Minibus (8 passengers maximum) = 158 Euros (price is shared, not per passenger)
You can pay by cash or credit card. Be sure to get a receipt, as this is necessary to get reimbursed. There should be no additional fees – everything is included.
I will arrive a couple days before the rest of you and give them a list of all the Summer Institute attendees and your flight information, so they will be expecting you. You can ask for Carol Rovida if there are any problems, though she won’t necessarily be there all day long.
Meeting Milano said that advanced reservations are not required for a car or van. You can just show up and they will have it ready for you shortly. A minibus, however, would require an advanced reservation, but we shouldn’t need this.
Meeting Place at Airport. If at all possible, please do not travel alone from the airport to the hotel. I will give you the flight information for the other Summer Institute attendees, so you will know when to expect their arrival. Traveling in groups with Meeting Milano will save substantially on the costs. Please arrange to meet each other either at “Le 4note della Ristorazione Bar Café” or at the public seating next to this restaurant. The airport is fairly small, so you should not have difficulties finding this. This restaurant is on the same level as Meeting Milano, which is next to “Arrivals B.”
Click here and here to see 2 photos of the restaurant. I recommend you print this out and bring it with you.
Meeting Milano Location and Contact Information. Meeting Milano is located next to “Arrivals B” at the Milan Malpensa Airport. If you want to call them for some reason, the phone number is: 011-39-02-585-800-80.
PASSPORT/VISA
Depending on your home country, you will probably need a passport to enter Italy. Please make sure your passport has not expired. It can take a long time these days to have it renewed. Rush service is available for an additional charge. Also, depending on your home country, you might also need a Visa, so please look into this.
For a U.S. government Website with passport information, click here.
JULY WEATHER IN ITALY: Click here
For nearby Milan, the average July high is 83 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius) and the average low is 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius)
ITALIAN CURRENCY
The Italian currency is Euros.
You can use a credit card at many locations, but not all.
You can bring Traveler’s Cheques and exchange them at a bank. There is a bank just a 5-minute walk from the hotel. Also, your ATM card might work at this bank, so you could withdraw Euros directly from your bank account, with your ATM card. My ATM card worked, though I was only able to withdraw from my checking account, not my savings account.
For a currency converter, click here
To find out the conversion rate between your home currency and Euros or vice versa.
HOTEL SAN ROCCO INFORMATION
For the Summer Institute, we will be staying at the Hotel San Rocco, which is located in the village of Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta (Lago d’Orta), which is about 60 to 90 minutes northwest of the Milan Malpensa Airport.
Click here to visit the hotel Website.
Hotel check-in time: 2:00 pm
Hotel check-out time: 12:00 pm
Room Facilities: All rooms have a private bathroom, refrigerator/mini-bar, hair dryer, a safe for valuables, television, phone, and an extra phone jack for Internet access. There is no VCR or microwave. There are no alarm clocks in the rooms but the hotel offers wake-up service. Some rooms have air conditioning, some do not.
NOTE: There is a charge for using any food or beverage that is in the mini-bar. You can ask the hotel staff to remove these items. We will not reimburse you for any mini-bar expenses (it’s expensive).
Electrical Outlets:
The voltage at the hotel is 220, so bring a converter if you need it. At the Milan Malpensa Airport, there is a store called Marco that had them in stock when I was there.
The shape of the outlet is 2 or 3 round holes in a straight line, so bring an adapter if you need it. The Marco store also had this in stock when I was there.
Restaurant Hours at the Hotel:
Breakfast: 7am to 10am
Lunch: 12:30 to 2pm
Dinner: 7:30pm to 10pm
There is also a snack bar on the outdoor terrace.
Dress Code: It is required that men wear pants at the hotel restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Upscale casual is the requested dress code. You are welcome to wear short pants during our meetings and when walking around the hotel, just not at the hotel restaurant.
Swimming: The hotel has an outdoor swimming pool overlooking the lake. Most people do not recommend swimming in the lake, as the lake has historically been too polluted, although this has improved in recent years.
Laundry: The hotel has 24-hour laundry, but the cost is 2 to 5 Euros for each article of clothing. I’m not sure if there is any other laundry service in the town.
Copying: I recommend you bring whatever handouts you want to distribute at the Summer Institute. There is no copying service in the village and the hotel only has a small, low-volume copier that does not collate or staple and is not self-service. Only the hotel staff can make copies for you for a fee (about .15 Euro per copy).
INTERNET ACCESS
There are no computers in Orta San Giulio or in the Hotel San Rocco that you can use. The only way you can get Internet access is to bring your laptop and connect it to the phone jack in your hotel room. I recommend you contact your Internet Service Provider to find out if there is a local phone number you can dial for relatively lower-cost Internet access. There is a charge for local calls. Earthlink has a local access phone number: 0322-780-900 (Arona/Borgomanero).
TIPPING
It’s difficult to generalize, so it’s best to ask if service is included. In general, service is included at the hotel and most restaurants Tips are therefore not expected but appreciated.
BANKING/ATM
There is a bank and ATM just a 5-minute walk from the Hotel San Rocco. Although there was no indication that the ATM was part of my ATM network, I was able to withdraw Euros with my ATM card, though I was only able to withdraw from my checking account, not my savings account.
PHONE CALLING CARD ACCESS
Contact your phone service provider to find out the phone number to call to make calling card calls in Italy.
For Verizon: 800-873-130, after tone. dial 634, then dial the phone number.
CELL PHONES
Check with your cell phone service provider if you can use your cell phone in Italy. Unless you have international service, you probably cannot use your cell phone, but you might be able to purchase international service for your cell phone.
If you want to purchase a cell phone in Italy, I was told you can buy them in the nearby towns of Gozzano or Borgomanero. There apparently are three services that will likely work. They are called Tim, Omnitel, and Wind.
You might be able to buy a cell phone at the Milan Malpensa Airport.
SUPERMARKETS
The nearest supermercato is called Uni and it’s located in the town of Gozzano, 10 kilometers south of Orta San Giulio, on SR 229. There are also supermarkets in Omegna and Borgomanero.
CAR RENTAL POLICY AND INFORMATION
For scholars, we will not reimburse any costs associated with car rentals, as cars are not needed for the Summer Institute and I can arrange group shuttle service from and to the airport for a much lower cost. If you decide to rent a car, you will need to pay for this out of your own pocket. My staff and I will have cars for emergencies.
For faculty, we will reimburse faculty for car rental costs, but only during the dates they are staying at the Summer Institute Hotel.
If you decide to rent a car, here is some information that will help:
- Car rentals are very expensive in Italy due to high accident and theft rates. It would likely cost you about $500 to $1,000 US dollars. I rented a compact car with a stick shift for $700 US dollars for one week in March (slow season).
- Cars with automatic transmissions are much more expensive than cars with manual transmissions (stick shifts).
- Renting a car online is usually more expensive than by phone.
- The following companies have car rentals at the Malpensa airport: Avis, Hertz, National, Europcar, and some others I hadn’t heard of.
- I learned something surprising: Even if you purchase the collision and liability insurance, there are still large deductibles – about $500 to $1,000 for accident or theft.
- If your car is stolen or in an accident, we will not pay your deductibles. You can get additional coverage to avoid the deductibles (see next point).
- If you rent a car, I recommend you request 100% coverage for all types of insurance. This will cost quite a bit, unless you prepay (which I did). Prepaying for a car rental is a new option, offered by Avis and Hertz (maybe others) and is an excellent value. For only a small additional fee, 100% coverage is usually included but make sure it is included with the prepayment option. You really don’t want to be driving the narrow, winding streets of Italy without 100% insurance coverage. Also, make sure that unlimited mileage is included and find out if your prepayment is refundable.
- If you make a reservation for a rental car, I recommend you do not tell the agent your flight information (other than your airline), as this could cause your car pick up time to be linked to your flight arrival time, which could add significantly to your cost. This happened to me – just adding one hour to my pick up time added $75 to the cost.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS (in pdf format)
Directions between Milan Malpensa Airport and Hotel San Rocco in Orta San Giulio
Click here
Directions between Hotel San Rocco and the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees in Stresa
Click here
NOTE: There is a toll between Milan Malpensa Airport and the Hotel San Rocco. You can pay this with Euros (about 2.10 Euros) or your credit card might work (mine did).
The Positive Psychology Summer Institute was made possible, in part, by a generous donation from The Hovey Foundation.