After much anticipation, our trip to Greece and Italy is upon us! From December 6th to the 17th, the High School will travel to Athens, Florence, Vatican City, and Rome. Even though we have been awaiting the trip since the spring of 2018, we are still shocked that it is actually happening.
After we picked our destination, the guides meticulously planned the coursework to integrate with the trip. Some examples of integration include learning about the triumphs and challenges that religion faced in the ancient world in theology, researching famous mathematicians that paved the road for modern mathematics in math, and giving formal presentations about the medieval and Renaissance periods in humanities. We even heard presentations from and had discussions with experts in the fields of archaeology, music, and art history! Seeing firsthand the places that we studied so diligently throughout the course of this semester will make this trip so much more meaningful.
Outside of selecting travel dates and purchasing flights, students planned the trip including lodging, transportation, meals, and the daily itinerary. We made phone calls, we wrote emails, we read reviews, we booked reservations… the list goes on!
Here are only a few of the many things we will see while on our trip:
• The Vatican Scavi Tour (Vatican City)
A tour of the secret excavations that went on during World War II under St. Peter’s Basilica to find St. Peter the Apostle’s burial location. We will see everything from remnants of the original basilica to early Christian tombs to St. Peter’s bones!
• Domus Aurea (Rome)
A tour of the ongoing excavations in the palace built by the emperor Nero after the great fire of Rome. The experience will include a guided tour of the ancient palace and virtual reality demonstrations of what it would’ve looked like.
• The Temple of Poseidon (Cape Sounion, Greece)
The Temple of Poseidon is one of the major monuments of the Golden Age of Athens. It is perched on a cliff and surrounded by the sea on three sides. This immense sacred space would’ve been the first thing people traveling to Greece by sea would’ve laid eyes on!
• Galleria dell’Accademia (Florence)
An incredible gallery housing all sorts of Renaissance art but best known for being the home of Michelangelo’s famous marble sculpture of the biblical David.
We want to thank St. Catherine’s for giving us this opportunity— we realize how special this experience will be and are extremely grateful.
We will be sending loads of pictures back home and plan on featuring some in The Globe, so be on the lookout next week. Thank you for reading!
Please click here to see a photo gallery of the trip.