Viva Italia
by Dr. Maribel Johnson
July 19, 2010
The Perry Lecompton High School International Club traveled to Italy in June. Thirteen students and five adults first visited Venice where they were instructed in the ancient art of Venetian glass blowing; later, crossing the Bridge of Sighs, they arrived at the Doges Palace where some brave young athletes climbed the 434 steps of the bell tower. Most travelers finished the day with gondola rides.
Their next stop was Florence, birthplace of the Medici and the Renaissance, and home to incredible works of art. Students explored the Duomo, various museums and later could choose to visit nearby Pisa with its leaning tower, where Galileo discovered his laws of gravity.
On their journey down the Adriatic coast, the group explored Assisi, home to Italy’s beloved St. Francis, on their way to Pompeii. Students were able to explore an original Roman town and see how wealthy Romans lived their daily lives more than 2,000 years ago. Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 A.D. interrupted and preserved the city perfectly. The group then traveled to Sorrento, a resort town, and relaxed with a cruise around the isle of Capri, an internationally recognized vacation destination.
The tired group boarded their bus one last time to head to Rome. Four days is not enough to contemplate the incredible four thousand years of history housed in the capitol city. The students were able to tour Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s square, the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum and the Pantheon. They viewed the burial crypts of Saints Peter, Paul, Mark and artists Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. On subsequent days, they visited the 2,500 year old Roman city of Ostia Antica and were able to tour only a small part of the sixteen miles of ancient catacombs, the earliest Christian burial grounds that lie deep under modern day Rome. All throughout the trip, students were instructed in history by knowledgeable guides.
After twelve exhausting days, many plates of pasta and countless gelatos, the weary group boarded a plane to return to Kansas. The motto for the trip, as the Italians say, was “Ciao-ciao, bella Italia.”—hello and good-bye, beautiful Italy.
Sponsors for the club are Mrs. Susie Whitaker and Dr. Maribel Johnson.
