On a late rainy Wednesday afternoon in the University of Arizona’s Integrated Learning Center, a group of 35 students savors some loaves of home-baked olive and tomato focaccia at the sound of soft music and frolicsome chatter. There are also cups of Italian-style cioccolata calda.      

With food being Italy’s main wealth and best-known symbol abroad, the UA’s Italian club cannot go one meeting without it. Even though almost 6,000 miles away, the sounds, colors and tastes of Italy are sincerely celebrated among a unique group of UA students known as Dolce Vita, “sweet life” in Italian.