Humanities Trip to Italy 2015

We will be using this blog as a way of informing parents and students of our progress and including photographs by way of illustration.

Day 1

At 4am this morning whilst normal mortals are fast asleep, the brave souls of Year 9 plus five of their teachers will be setting off for what should prove to be a fascinating visit to Italy. Whilst there, we hope to explore a range of world famous landmarks and institutions. These will include the Vatican, the Coliseum, Vesuvius and Pompeii.

Day 2

According to tradition, the city of Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus in 753BC. In the 4th century AD, the empire began to crumble after successive invasions and internal division. It went on to become, however, the home of the Roman Catholic Church and houses some of the most important historical sites and works of art in the world. During our visit to Rome, we hope our Year 9 students will experience and appreciate something of the significance of the Eternal City.

All has been running like clockwork thus far. We set off in pouring rain at 4am from Highcliffe School this morning. Students waved goodbye to pyjama clad parents as we set off for Heathrow. At the airport there was time for them to purchase essential provisions before a pleasant flight to Rome and a coach ride to our hotel. The only moment of concern for students was watching Mr Yapp being swept off by the baggage carousel as he wrestled manfully with a small case. Mercifully all ended well.

This evening saw students settle into their rooms before dinner and subsequently ‘lights out’. Many are now aware that pasta can be a starter in Italian cuisine. We are hoping for a good night’s rest to ensure plenty of energy for our walk to Vatican City in the morning!

Day 3

Greetings from Rome! This has been an especially full day for the intrepid students of Year 9. A buffet breakfast got everyone off to a good start and then we set off by foot for the short walk to the Vatican. Miss DiMaggio negotiated us a swift entrance and suddenly we were faced with more works of art, artefacts and beautiful rooms than we will ever see again in one place. The Vatican Museums are overflowing with works by Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian and many others. In addition, there are rooms full of important objects from Rome, Greece, Egypt, Assyria and other civilisations.

The highlight for many was the famous Sistine Chapel. We spent three hours viewing these before walking to St Peter’s Basilica. We had lunch in the square and, once again Miss DiMaggio’s negotiating skills came in useful, eventually leaving the Panini salesman a beaten man. Inside the beautiful Basilica we saw more sculptures, paintings and the tombs of many popes, including St Peter himself! Subsequently, the team of Miss Kennedy (expert at stopping traffic!) and Miss DiMaggio (better at negotiating than navigating!) led us – via a sometimes circuitous route - down to the River Tiber where ice creams were eaten in the shadow of the Castel Saint’Angelo. Thankfully, Mr Yapp can now inform people – in Italian - that his chocolate ice cream is delicious.

Tomorrow will involve an earlier start as we set out to explore the Coliseum and other treasures of Ancient Rome and the Renaissance.

Day 4

Highcliffe Year 9’s have excelled during another very busy day in Rome. One of the most notable challenges was to be navigating the capital’s metro system whilst keeping our merry band of 45 together. We are delighted to report that this was accomplished with military precision. It enabled us to access the major sites of Ancient Rome, most notably the Coliseum and the Roman Forum.

Subsequently, we strolled through Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio and then had lunch in the shadow of the Palazzo Venezia – the residence of Mussolini. Sadly the Trevi Fountain is under repair but this did not prevent some from throwing in coins, thus ensuring – according to tradition - a return to Rome at some point in the future.

The group then walked up the Spanish Steps and were set to stroll to the parliament building when we encountered a demonstration against the Italian Prime Minister by the trade union movement. The gist of the protest was that he is not doing a particularly good job. A detour was made to a beautiful park for ice cream and football (Italy 0-2 England), before another metro journey back to the hotel.

Tonight is our last in Rome. We will shortly be packing up in preparation for tomorrow’s journey to Sorrento and have just realised that the hour goes forward in Italy too!

Day 5

Greetings from the lovely town of Sorrento. Our jolly band waved goodbye to the Hotel Pacific and the inspirational city of Rome this morning. We set off by coach to the monastery of Montecassino. According to tradition, Saint Benedict founded the original monastery 1,500 years ago (when Miss Kennedy was just a young girl). It was subsequently destroyed by the Saracens and rebuilt.

As we drove up the steep, winding mountainside we saw a beautiful yet poignant cemetery commemorating the fallen of the Polish Army from World War II. This was a timely reminder of the second reason we visit the monastery, namely that it was the site of a bloody and decisive battle in 1944. Once again the result was the destruction of the historic buildings.

Our visit coincided with the celebration of Palm Sunday and many of our students observed the Roman Catholic Mass and were presented with palm branches. We made our way down the mountainside and headed south in the direction of Naples, eventually arriving at the Hotel Londra in the early evening.

After a second large meal of the day, the gallant Year 9 participated in our extensive quiz. Subjects tested included Italian vocabulary, the trip so far, Highcliffe School history and events in the news. Congratulations to the winning team of – Campbell, Jordan, Ben and Ataly. Their intimate knowledge of football, Ancient Rome, pizza and One Direction proved to be decisive!

Tomorrow morning we head off for Vesuvius which is still an active volcano, having last erupted in 1944. Thankfully a recurrence is not forecast for 30th March!

Day 6

This has been a day of two extremes for our fearless band of Year 9’s who have experienced extremes of weather around the Bay of Naples. This morning saw us turn our attention to Geography and Geology as we headed up Mount Vesuvius observing the pyroclastic flows on the way.

Frighteningly, if the volcano were to erupt today, 600,000 people would be in peril. Thankfully the events of 79 AD and 1944 were not repeated. Less fortunately, as we climbed higher the weather got wetter, windier and mistier. Some of the less well equipped among us decided to purchase none too attractive ponchos to keep out the elements. By the time we walked to the summit, we were unable to see into the crater. The weather was such that we were unable to prolong our time at the top and so our bedraggled group trooped back down to the coach somewhat prematurely.

After lunch we visited Herculaneum where the sun was shining brightly and we were able to explore the well preserved remains of the town enveloped by a mud slide the day after the destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD. The artefacts viewed ranged from beautiful 2000 year old paintings to human remains still in situ. This evening we visited a local ice cream parlour where we watched Annabelle, Alex, Nicole and Maddie help with the manufacture of delicious lemon ice cream and sampled some unusual combinations of flavours.

Day 7

Firstly, our apologies for the technical issues that are making it harder to post the blog as often as we would like. This is largely due to the sporadic availability of Wi-Fi at our hotel. We will ensure that everything gets posted as soon as technology permits.

As our penultimate full day away draws to an end, we can all look back on some memorable experiences. The majority of the day has been spent at the incomparable archaeological site of Pompeii. Armed with a guide we were able to walk through and view many of the well preserved buildings and areas of city. These included the forum, two theatres, the baths and the amphitheatre.

Armed with our own guide we were able to appreciate far more of what life must have been like in Pompeii two thousand years ago. Some of the more moving exhibits included the casts of the bodies of the inhabitants who were unable to escape the debris from Vesuvius.

This evening saw us mark our last night in the hotel with our traditional fancy party. After photos and some educational and sophisticated party games, there was a presentation involving all students. Before bed there was packing to be done as the morning holds the frightening prospect of room inspection after breakfast. Thankfully there are still excursions to look forward to, including a visit to Solfatara and a long awaited shopping trip to Sorrento.

Day 8

Apologies that the blog has been running a little behind schedule. Yesterday’s update was hampered by internet related issues whilst today is being sent from home due to our being on the road, in the air and out and about for the past day or so.

We woke for our last day in Sorrento to be greeted by the prospect of a final carbohydrate orientated breakfast and room inspection. In the latter regard the students far out performed their teachers. We subsequently made our way through the streets of Sorrento beneath orange and lemon trees, heavy with fruit to the main square. We have become increasingly adept at dodging Lambrettas and Vespas!

Students then had two hours to stroll the pedestrianized backstreets to look for souvenirs. For lunch we made our way down to a park overlooking the bay and spent some time taking in the beautiful views. It was then time to return to the hotel, load up the coach and bid farewell to Sorrento.

The journey took us to the fascinating city of Naples where we visited the dormant volcano of Solfatara. Our guide explained to us the uniqueness of the site providing us with information of a geological, botanical and mythological nature. It was nice to be able to stand in the middle of a crater after the disappointment of being unable to see much at the top of Vesuvius, although it was a little unnerving to feel the ground vibrating beneath our feet. Not all of our party enjoyed the aroma of sulphur that pervaded the site!

After the short trip to Naples International we were able to commandeer a restaurant for our last group meal. Pizza seemed a popular choice for the occasion – for some this was their first pizza experience of the trip. Our flight home was of the more bumpy variety and we walked out of Gatwick to be greeted by wind and rain and news of fence panels having blown away. Although our driver seemed to have a somewhat limited grasp of the geography south of the M25, we arrived safely back at Highcliffe in the early hours, to be greeted by family who had braved similar conditions when bidding us farewell a week earlier.