S PRING 2017
P AGE 21
Abington's Global Education: Italy 2017
An almost indescribable trip
Nivetha Aravindan ‘18
Copy Editor
Abington's Global Education program
gave students an incredible opportunity to
visit some of the most breathtaking sights
in Italy. I was lucky enough to be part of
this amazing experience. Our tour guide,
Aline Casagrande, who we called "Big
House," was so funny and helped us learn
so much about Italy. We visited the beauti-
ful cities of Venice, Florence, Rome, San
Gimignano, Assisi and the Vatican City.
Filled with crystal blue canals and
beautiful historical sights, Venice was one
of the most unique and fascinating places
we visited. We took a water taxi which
brought us to the Piazza San Marco, home
to Doge's Palace, Saint Mark's Basilica, and
a Renaissance clock tower where we cap-
tured a stunning view of the entire city.
We were lucky to visit Venice during
the Carnival of Venice, so we were able to
see many parades and masks. Mask are the
symbol of the festival.
Our group attended an art class,
where we painted our own masks. We also
went on a scavenger hunt where we tried
to find different places and answer ques-
tions about the city. This required com-
municating with the locals, who were very
kind and helpful. Ms Casey's group won,
receiving small glass sculptures as prizes
and gelato as a reward from Ms Casey.
The highlight of Venice were the gondo-
las, an opportunity to take a relaxing
ride along the beautiful Venetian waters
and capture amazing views of the city.
Our next stop was Florence,
home to fascinating Renaissance paint-
ings and sculptures. One of the best
attractions was the Galleria dell'Acca-
demia, where we saw the amazing statue
of David by Michelangelo and the Duomo,
which is a huge cathedral constructed in
Renaissance style. The unique architecture
and intricate artwork was fascinating. We
strolled along the Ponte Vecchio Bridge
while viewing the beautiful river below,
and the amazing buildings lining the other
side of the river.
Our group visited the beautiful town
of San Gimignano, (a town not on our
itinerary but recommended by our tour
guide) which is at the top of a hill, and
filled with medieval towers and fountains.
We captured spectacular views of the
hillside landscape of Tuscany and took
“We all made sure to
throw a coin into the
fountain and make a
wish to come back to
Rome in the near
future.”
Nivetha Aravindan ‘18
For many more pictures from the Icelandic and Italian Tours, please visit
greenwavegazette.org
many pictures. The peaceful, uncrowded
environment of San Gimignano made it an
ideal shopping spot, and a great place to sit
down and enjoy an outdoor meal in a café.
On our way to Rome, we stopped at
another beautiful hill town called Assisi.
It was filled with amazing natural views
and important religious monuments. Dur-
ing our visit, we visited the Basilica of
Saint Francis, who was one of Italy's most
important saints.
Rome is filled with astonishing an-
cient architecture and has so much history
to offer. We toured the Colosseum, which
was even more fascinating than we imag-
ined. I enjoyed the Pantheon, which is an
ancient Roman temple filled with beautiful
artwork, and the Trevi Fountain. We all
threw a coin into the fountain and made a
wish to come back soon. In the spirit of the
Colosseum, we went to gladiator school,
where we dressed up like gladiators and
learned various gladiators skills. The gladi-
ator experience was one of the most excit-
ing and memorable activities of the trip,
and we all had such a great time.
Our last stop was Vatican City
where we visited the Vatican museum and
some of the most beautiful churches in the
world. I couldn't take my eyes off of the
amazing Renaissance artwork covering the
ceilings of the building and the unique
sculptures that filled the museum. We
also visited St. Peter's Basilica, which is
the largest Christian basilica in the world.
The artwork was mind-blowing. My fa-
vorite part about Vatican City was seeing
the Sistine Chapel with my own eyes. It is
filled with awe-inspiring biblical paintings
by Michelangelo. We have learned about
his contributions to the Renaissance in
history class, but to see his work first
hand was magnificent.
Traveling to Italy was an incredible
and unforgettable experience. The chaper-
ones worked so hard to make every mo-
ment remarkable, and all the students had
a great time. We were able to take away
important life skills, such as communi-
cating with people from other countries
and experiencing the Italian lifestyle per-
sonally. I really enjoyed shopping in Italy
and tasting authentic Italian food, such as
pizza, pasta and gelato. Traveling abroad is
a once in a lifetime opportunity that all
students should definitely take advantage
of if they can.