How Will A School Trip To Italy Benefit My Students?

You may be looking to run your first school trip abroad or you may be a seasoned Party Leader seeking an alternative destination for your school’s annual trip. Knowing where to go and which destination can best support your students’ learning can be a bit of a conundrum. With dozens of famous locations in Italy providing schools with the perfect base to trace history, explore art and carry out case studies, we take a look at our three most popular school trip destinations in Italy.

Rome

Rome is charismatic, ornate and iconic. The Italian capital is a hotchpotch of monumental remains from its golden age, classy piazzas and Baroque-inspired architecture. There are nods to the Renaissance, alfresco settings and artistic treasures waiting to be rediscovered.

You school group are placed in one of the best locations to explore a city that allows students to gain a cross-curricular experience. Soak in the culture around the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain before getting to grips with the remains of the Roman Empire.

Group inside the Colosseum

Classics students will be in their element with a stop at the Colosseum, the world’s largest amphitheatre. A trip to Rome also offers the opportunity to visit the gladiator training school where students learn more about life for gladiators and combat techniques. Students will be able to build a clearer picture of the purpose behind the many structures that remain in Rome, including the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the eerie underground catacombs.

A visit to Rome wouldn’t be complete without a stop in Vatican City. Walking through St Peter’s Basilica, students will see awe-inspiring Renaissance masterpieces before heading to the Sistine Chapel to view the legendary work by Michelangelo on the chapel’s ceiling. Exploring churches through Rome, including the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Chiesa del Gesu, presents students with a chance to see the close relationship between religion, art and architecture.

Don’t miss out…
Rome offers some outstanding immersive experiences, including the Time Elevator which engages the senses as students take a journey through time from the legend of Romulus and Remus to the present day.

Inside the Pantheon, Rome

Bay of Naples

The Bay of Naples allows for the tastes of the South to come out in cookery lessons, the staggering Mount Vesuvius to amaze geography students, and the outstanding Roman relics of Pompeii and Herculaneum to be discovered on your next school trip top Italy.

Food technology students will have a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds in the Bay of Naples. Learn the art of making struffoli, get to grips with gnocchi and create the perfect pizza with a range of workshops designed for student groups. Your student group can also go behind the scenes on the production processes at an olive oil factory, mozzarella factory and Limoncello producers. Gaining practical skills to use back in the classroom and at home, students will also understand the importance of cooking within different cultures and the birth of regional specialities.

Don’t miss out…
Don’t skip out tasting some local ice cream with unbelievable gelato parlours in Sorrento and along the Amalfi Coast.

View of Positano from the beach

Classics and geography students can come together on a cross-curricular school trip to the Bay of Naples with the iconic Mount Vesuvius playing a central role in the avalanche of the coastal cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79AD. Students can explore the excavated locations on foot and learn about Roman lifestyles and architecture. There is also an incredibly insightful tour beneath the streets of Naples which takes students on a tours of Roman access passageways and the ruins of a Greco-Roman theatre where the Emperor Nero once performed.

From Mount Vesuvius to the Phlegrean Fields, students can the nine-mile caldera of Solfatara volcano west of Naples. While Solfatara sits dormant, the volcano still emits jets of steam and sulphurous gas through its fumaroles and is a good place for geography students to discuss the effects of uplift and subsidence within the caldera.

Sicily

It seems Sicily has seen it all with the remains and signposts of the past being left by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Elymians, Romans and Greeks. Teachers of classics will be keen to draw their students’ attention to the Valley of the Temples where Greek temples have been excavated and beautifully restored – albeit partially.

Agrigento, Sicily

Don’t miss out…
The best preserved temples at Agrigento are the Temples of Concord and Juno.

Head to Sicily’s South West and, arguably, the most impressive ruins your students will encounter will be the city of Selinunte. Meander through the numerous temples, acropolis and agora, and students will be able to use one of the richest archaeological sites in Sicily to build a picture of life, architecture and urban planning.

Landscape of Mount Etna

The position of Sicily’s ruins ties in nicely with the fieldwork and enquiry opportunities available to your geography students. With Mount Etna remaining one of the most active volcanoes in the world, students can learn about why communities have decided to position themselves in a hazardous landscape and how the fertile soil supports local agriculture. At its central location in the Mediterranean, students can also explore agricultural methods and styles and study the impact of tourism and the issues around sustainability this creates. Ultimately, students will soon learn Sicily is diverse in both landscape and national treasures.

To find out more about school trips to Italy, or to start planning your next educational experience, speak to the Travelbound team on 01273 244 572 or contact us online.

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