This spring break, juniors and seniors who are currently enrolled in an Italian, Spanish, or French class or who had previously completed the language requirement had the opportunity to travel to Italy. This newly school-sponsored trip was organized with EF Educational Tours. EF Tours partners with the school to give students the opportunity for educational travel. Students and teacher chaperones departed on Sunday, Apr. 13 and returned on Wednesday, Apr. 23. The trip was eleven days full of sightseeing, visiting various historical sites, eating authentic Italian food, and hanging out with friends. “One of the greatest benefits of these trips is the opportunity to extend learning beyond the classroom, creating lasting memories and building strong relationships that would be difficult to foster in a traditional school setting,” explained foreign language teacher Antonella Trachina, the chief organizer of the trip.
First, the students landed in the country’s capital city, Rome, on Monday, Apr. 14 after departing from JFK airport. Here, the group explored the city through a tour of Renaissance and Baroque architecture covering St. Peter’s square. These designs are from two art movements that occurred in Rome. Students were able to walk through the Holy Doors which are exclusively opened during a Jubilee Year– only celebrated every 25 years. Additionally, the students participated in a tiramisu and gelato-making cooking class. Senior Kate Santoli expresses, “It was so cool to actually learn how to make the traditional desserts that we tried.” While in Rome, students also visited historical sites such as the Roman Colosseum and Forum, some of the city’s most alluring attractions.
As well as visiting key places in Italy, students ate a variety of food specific to each region they explored. For instance, while in Rome, the group took a street food tour, learning of popular dishes in the city. Students were given free time for lunch to discover as they pleased and dinners were spent eating together as a group. Senior Jillian Weston remarks, “I was very surprised that they would give us like 4 courses for dinner. First, an antipasto, then pasta, then some sort of meat, and finally dessert. The portion sizes were perfect though, and you could find room to keep eating the next course.”
After Rome, the travel group boarded an overnight ferry that took them to Sicily. They arrived in Palermo, which is the capital of the island. Once in Palermo, the students took a guided tour that included seeing the Cathedral of Monreale, Palazzo dei Normanni, and Palermo Cathedral. The cathedrals are important sites of religious power.
The next stop on the island of Sicily was Taormina. Again, students visited historical places: Taormina Cathedral, Palazzo Corvaja, and the ancient theater of Taormina, which was built in the third century BC. Junior Nicholas Sferrazza mentions, “My favorite part of the trip was visiting Taormina, the small picturesque mountainside town filled with beautiful shops and restaurants.” Further, the group ascended Mount Etna. Mount Etna is Europe’s highest and most active volcano. It is also categorized as a stratovolcano, meaning it is steep and cone-shaped. Coincidentally, the volcano erupted the very night that the students climbed its lower rings! Then, still in Sicily, the students took a day stop to Siracusa where they had a guided excursion of the Siracusa Archaeological Site.
Traveling back to mainland Italy by ferry, the students made a stop to visit the beautiful seaside towns of Pizzo in Calabria and Salerno in Campania. While in Salerno, the group viewed the gorgeous sights of the Amalfi Coast. Here, they visited a lemon tour, learning how lemons grow and what they mean to the culture. “I found it very interesting and enriching because lemon farms are not a big thing in America. I loved taste testing the variety of lemons which were very good. You can definitely taste that the lemons were organic and didn’t contain pesticides,” Weston feels. Unfortunately, while in the Amalfi Coast, bells sounded during the day indicating that Pope Francis had passed. Finally, on the way back to Rome, the group toured the ruins of Pompeii, seeing the city after it was buried by ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.
The group was immersed in a new environment, taking in towns and cities different than in America through their buildings, values, people, culture, and other aspects. For example, throughout many of the locations visited, there were many cats strolling around: “I also loved seeing all the animals that roamed the towns by themselves or with their owners, which was a great touch to the area,” Sferrazza adds. Students and the chaperones experienced Italy in hands-on exposure from viewing the architecture, visiting important and historical sites, learning customs, eating the food, and meeting all sorts of new people.
An experience that proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime, Tranchina expressed her gratitude for the LHS community’s enthusiasm for the trip and throughout the voyage over the break: “I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Lynch, the board of education, and the rest of the administration team for their support and for giving me the opportunity to lead this enriching adventure. I would also like to thank my chaperones for giving up the spring break with their families to support me and the students on this adventure,” she said.
