Scroll down to explore highlights from SALVI’s history since its founding in 1996. We get around more than Odysseus – SALVI has sponsored or co-sponsored programs in more than 15 states, Italy, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia. (There’s a glossary of Latin terms and acronyms at the end.)
1996
temptata res est
October, 1996: SALVI is born! A group of Latinists at UCLA including Nancy Llewellyn, Jim Dobreff, Fred Ahl, and Professor Bernie Frischer formally found the “North American Institute for Living Latin Studies” (in Latin, “Septentrionale Americanum Latinitatis Vivae Institutum,” or S.A.L.V.I.).
four days at a time
1997 – 1998: “Quadriduum Latinum Angelopolitanum” is SALVI’s first series of events: four-day conferences featuring guest speakers held at UCLA and UC Berkeley, hosted by Nancy Llewellyn and Jim Dobreff.
brave new world
March 29 – April 3, 1998: Septimana Californiana marks SALVI’s first annual event. The first six participants spent the week at the Mission San Luis Rey Retreat Center in Oceanside, CA reading Latin texts about the discovery of the New World.
cenabis bene apud me
1996 – 2004: Latin dinners (“cenae Latinae“) are held in Southern California. Favorite spots include The Marquis Room in Santa Monica, where participants would read from booklets made just for the occasion. One such book was “Quorundam Poetarum Nostrae Aetatis Florilegium Parvum” – a collection of fun modern Latin poems.
flammae atque incendia
June 26 – July 2, 1999: The second Septimana Californiana features a field trip to Catalina Island. At night, participants sit around a bonfire on the beach and read passages from the Aeneid under the stars.
Rusticatio ostendit fructum
June 5 – 11, 2000: Three brave SALVIani found Rusticatio in Northern California. In addition to activities from Septimana, Australian Latin teacher and chef extraordinaire Andrew Gollum begins the tradition of cooking together Latine. The new location is closer to wine country in Napa. After all, in vino Latinitas!
peregrinatio Mexicana
2001 – 2004: Nancy Llewellyn, Albert Baca, and others journey to Mexico to meet with the modern Mexican Latin poet, Francisco Cabrera. Cabrera had been collaborating with SALVIanus Bill Cooper on a book, “Monumenta Mexicana.” SALVIani make three trips to Mexico between 2001 and 2004.
gallina gummacea
August 10 – 16, 2001: Opening ceremonies were conducted with a rubber chicken (“gallina gummacea”) in hand – for the first time (we think) at the second Rusticatio. Participation more than doubles.
cibus et error
August 5 – 12, 2004: Rusticatio Californiana is still going strong at Silver Penny Farm, with participants flying in from Virginia and even Australia. Kangaroo meat makes its one disastrous appearance on a Rusticatio menu.
novum annum feliciter
2005: After a summer Rusticatio marked by kayaking on the Russian River, SALVI returns to Silver Penny Farm for its final event there: a New Year’s party! Msgr. Cletus Pavanetto joins the celebration all the way from the Vatican in Rome. This marks the end of the events hosted in Petaluma – and the start of a search to find a new home for Rusticatio.
Claymont discovered!
March 30 – April 1, 2006: SALVI teams up with the Society for the Oral Reading of Greek and Latin Literature earlier this year in Quebec. Together they plan a workshop at a location that SORGLL suggests: Claymont Court in West Virginia. Nancy Llewellyn sees a place perfect for Rusticatio.
dulcium latinorum
1998 – 2007: To meet new Latinistae, SALVI invites people to dessert at conferences at Ball State University, CAMWS, APA (now SCS), and others. People come to see how sweet it is to speak Latin.
hic manebimus optime
October 5 – 7, 2007: For SALVI’s 11th birthday, it’s time to rededicate ourselves to the mission! Nancy Llewellyn, Jacque Myers, Andrew Gollan, Luke Henderson, Gina Soter, John Piazza, and Jenny Nelson meet at Santa Monica High School in California to create a strategic approach for SALVI’s second decade. Their efforts create more opportunities than SALVI has ever offered before.
the second seal
2008: SALVI President Jenny Nelson commissions the creation of our seal!
a new tradition
July 2 – 8, 2008: The first Rusticatio Virginiana is held at Claymont Manor in Charles Town, WV. The gallina gummacea flies (on a plane, for obvious reasons) to open the week full of reading, conversation, and hiking in the woods.
urbs aeterna
July 2010: SALVI’s first Iter Romanum brings Rusticatio out of the woods and to The Eternal City. People explore ancient sites and restaurants with Latin-speaking tour guides. There are even tours underneath Rome and inside hard-to-access places like the interior of the Pyramid of Caius Cestius. Rusticatio happens on both coasts in the U.S. this year as well, with a new location in California and the second year at Claymont.
Roman Ruins in Malibu?
2010: While adults explore Rome Latine or enjoy Rusticatio, SALVIanus Luke Henderson founds its first program for high school students in partnership with the Getty Villa. Academia Aestiva brings kids behind the scenes in a museum recreating a Roman villa. Teenagers spend the morning learning about Roman art and daily life at the museum and the afternoons outdoors playing games like harpastum (Roman football).
Biduum is born!
February 24 – 26, 2012: It’s been months since the last Rusticatio and we can’t wait any longer! Biduum – a weekend-long immersion event – is the brainchild of SALVIana Dawn “Aurora” Mitchell. The event both creates a shorter opportunity for new people to try speaking Latin and it helps experienced speakers get a quick fix of Latin immersion.
return of Septimana
July 2 – 9, 2012: SALVI President Jacque Myers brings back Septimana Latina after a hiatus of 11 years. Loyola Marymount University and our dux, Prof. Stephen Berard, host to sessions in writing and conversation for advanced-level speakers. We visit popular sites in Los Angeles and continue speaking Latin, even when surrounded by English and Spanish.
in memoriam
July 12 – 19, 2012: One of the most beloved parts of Rusticatio has been sitting with Professor David Morgan on the porch. A man known for his generous spirit and the depth of his Latinity, he touched the heart of everyone who had the honor to meet him. 2012 marked the last Rusticatio he would attend before his death.
Latinitas ubique
2013: The year SALVI ran more than 10 programs in 6 states in under 8 months – and you thought Pheidippides ran around a lot! Bidua begin in Oklahoma and Michigan and continue at Claymont and in California. Rusticatio adds a third, special week: Atlanta Latin teacher Dr. Bob Patrick and friends inaugurate Pedagogy Rusticatio – a week in English focusing on classroom best practices.
helping a friend
August 4 – 10, 2013: Father Jason Barone, a Rusticatio regular, approaches SALVI to help launch Veterum Sapientia, a spoken-Latin event for clergy. The program is developed under SALVI’s aegis through partnerships with Belmont Abbey College, Catholic University of America, and St. Joseph’s College Seminary. Father Reggie Foster headlines as the first keynote speaker.
where are your keys?
July 10 – 15, 2014: Pedagogy Rusticatio this year gets handsy! Evan Gardner, creator of Where Are Your Keys?, teaches how to use American Sign Language as a technique to support learning Latin assisted by Jason Slanga and Justin Slocum Bailey. Roberto Carfagni joins Rusticatio from Italy as our honored guest.
ask me about speaking Latin!
November 21 – 23, 2014: Latin teachers are everywhere at the 2014 ACTFL conference. Everyone can recognize us easily because we’re all wearing shirts, created by SALVIana Arianne Belzer, that proudly proclaim: “Ask me about speaking Latin!” We also celebrate and cheer Dr. Bob Patrick, a SALVIanus who is an ACTFL Teacher of the Year Finalist – the first Latin teacher ever nominated.
in memoriam
2015: Amy High was an early supporter of SALVI before her untimely death in 2003. She was beloved by all who met her and you may know her as the Latin translator of the children’s book Olivia or from her appearances on the “Forum Romanum” classroom video series. In 2015, SALVI began offering scholarships in her honor to bring more people to the world of living Latin.
Africae vertuntur ad oras
June 2015: SALVI goes to Africa! Nancy Llewellyn and John Kuhner are invited by North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa to run Septimana Africana. Readings focus on celebrating the African intellectual tradition and on Latin authors born in Africa, such as al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, also known as Leo Africanus.
Latin makes a big splash
Summer 2015: Pedagogy Rusticatio goes on the road to the National TPRS Conference. Let’s just say we surprised all the other modern language educators with our large delegation of Latin teachers using TPRS and speaking Latin. (People may have also been surprised when a SALVIanus removed his shirt to reveal rippling muscles in front of a big audience, but that’s a story for another time…)
Helene of Troy
2016: There are so many veterani of SALVI programs that Rusticatio Veteranorum continues to grow in its second year. Pedagogy Rusticatio features Helene Rassias of Dartmouth College’s Rassias Center for World Languages and Cultures. Bi-coastal Bidua keep on truckin’.
quot homines tot Rusticationes
June 30 – July 24, 2017: Rusticatio is so full that we have to run three full weeks: tironum for beginners, veteranorum for the more experienced, and omnibus for all speaking levels. All this on top of four Bidua, including the first in New York State.
twenty years means par-tay!
July 14 – 16, 2017: It’s time to celebrate twenty years of SALVI serving the living Latin community. The party at Claymont brings together alumni SALVIani from the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Two of the original incorporators from 1996, Jim Dobreff of UMass Boston and Fred Ahl of Cornell U, are distinguished guests. One SALVI tradition, the annual performance of Blundell and Cumming’s Auricula Meretricula, receives a full makeover with original lyrics and music by Joel Derfner of NYU. The tunes leave our toes tapping while honoring the hard work and persistence that formed SALVI’s first two decades.
2023
et haec NUNC meminisse iuvabit!
We’ll see you speaking Latin soon.
Glossary (in order of appearance):
- temptata res est – “They tried to do something.” from Livy
- Quadriduum Latinum Angelopolitanum – Latin Four-Day Event in Los Angeles
- Septimana Californiana – Week in California
- cenabis bene apud me – “You’ll eat well at my house!” from Catullus
- cenae Latinae – Latin-speaking meals
- Quorundam Poetarum Nostrae Aetatis Florilegium Parvum – A little collection of some poets from our (i.e. the modern) era
- flammae atque incendia – “flames and bonfires” from the Aeneid
- Rusticatio ostendit fructum – “Spending time in the country bears fruit.” from the Book of Ecclesiasticus
- Latine – in Latin (e.g., “cooking Latine” means cooking while speaking Latin and reading recipes written in Latin)
- in vino Latinitas – “There’s Latin in wine.” A play on in vino veritas.
- peregrinatio Mexicana – Pilgrimage to Mexico
- SALVIanus, SALVIana, SALVIani, SALVIanae – a person or people who participate in SALVI events.
- gallina gummacea – rubber chicken! You’ll need to come to Rusticatio to find out more…
- cibus et error – “food and a mistake,” a reference to Ovid’s “carmen et error” (“poem and a mistake”).
- novum annum feliciter (opto) – I wish you a new year happily!
- dulcium Latinorum (epulae) – (A feast of) Latin sweets
- hic manebimus optime – “Here we will stay excellently.” A phrase from Livy meaning we are set in our decision.
- urbs aeterna – “The Eternal City,” aka Rome!
- Iter Romanum – “trip to Rome”
- Academia Aestiva – “Summer Academy”
- in memoriam – “for the memory (of someone who has passed)”
- Latinitas ubique – “Latin everywhere”
- Pheidippides – the Greek soldier who ran 26.2 miles from Marathon to Athens, inspiring the modern tradition
- Bidua – the plural of Biduum
- Veterum Sapientia – “Wisdom of the Elders”
- ACTFL – American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
- Africae vertuntur ad oras – “They pivoted to the shores of Africa.” A play on Vergil describing Aeneas landing in Libya.
- TPRS – Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling, a pedagogical approach to teaching language
- quot homines tot Rusticationes – “everyone gets (to go to) Rusticatio,” a play on “quot homines tot sententiae” (idiomatically, “everyone’s got an opinion”) a popular adage cited in Terence.
- (Rusticatio) tironum – Rusticatio for beginners
- (Rusticatio) veteranorum – Rusticatio for veterans
- (Rusticatio) omnibus – Rusticatio for everyone
- et haec NUNC meminisse iuvabit – “Now it’s helpful to recall even these events.” A play on Vergil’s “forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit” (“perhaps one day it’ll be helpful to recall even these events”).