Faculty of Humanities

Classical Civilisation

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Italy Trip Report

17th - 26th April 2003

Buonvenuti!

On a very sunny Thursday morning 40 students aged 14 to 17 met five members of staff in the Avenue ready to set off on a ten day trip to Italy. After some careful loading of extremely large suitcases, we set off on time ready to catch a ferry to Calais. After a pleasurable crossing and a chance to eat and shop (the typical past time of most of the students) we arrived safe and sound in France.

The journey to Montecatini Terme in Tuscany (the location of our first hotel) took almost 22 hours in total. However, on the Friday, the Italian sun was shining and the weather was quite warm on arrival – unlike the welcome at the hotel, an unsmiling receptionist who did nothing but frown at the students the whole evening and ask for quiet. Despite this, it was a first evening to explore an Italian town and get a feeling for Italian culture.

On Saturday we headed for Florence to spend a few hours in this Renaissance city before going on to our main hotel near Rome. Again, the weather was kind to us, the students had their first chance to sight-see and the inevitable bit of shopping was done. The most popular item bought was a name sign painted in Chinese style. Most girls and staff had the opportunity to see ‘il duomo’ (Florence’s impressive cathedral) and its tower, as well as the famous Ponte Vecchio lined with shops selling jewellery. Not one student failed to miss the McDonald’s in Florence’s train station as an ideal quick snack lunch. After rejoining the coach and drivers, it was off to the seaside resort of Fregene and the Hotel Corallo. The welcome here could not have been more different; but then I have used this hotel on two previous occasions and certainly knew what to expect. The girls quickly settled into their rooms (most with balconies and a sea view) before dinner.

Sunday was a more relaxing day. After a leisurely breakfast, we set off on a 30 minute drive to Ostia Antica. The first of our ancient Roman sites – Ostia was a thriving Roman town which operated as a port at the original entrance to the River Tiber. It was here that the grain ships from Sicily and Egypt unloaded their goods and they were then shipped by barge up the river to the capital of the Roman Empire. Due to its proximity to Rome, Ostia also took the population overflow. Most people lived in blocks of flats, the remains of many of these are very clearly visible today. It had its own theatre and forum (business/ political centre) as well as many shops selling all kinds of imported items. Whilst it is not on the scale of Pompeii, there are still many fantastic mosaics and wall paintings to be seen here. It is not a site of major importance but is certainly worth a visit; the Italians themselves have only relatively recently become more aware of its potential as a tourist attraction and have begun to develop the site. Three years ago, there was no ‘coffee shop’ or souvenir shop on the site itself, but it was a welcome place to shelter from the rain on this occasion. We returned to Fregene mid-afternoon but the weather was still against any chance of a visit to the beach. However, the Year 11 students, closely followed by the Year 10s, found a way of wiling away the time before dinner – they had a dressing up session, in each other’s clothes and with some rather ‘interesting’ hairstyles and make-up designs. I have yet to see all the photographic evidence from this.

Monday was set to be our longest excursion day – Pompeii. It should have taken us a little over three hours to drive to the site – but that did not make allowances for one driver giving wrong directions to the other. Whilst we made it in the end (via the long way round) we were set to have rather a wet visit – due to heavy rain. Despite this downpour, everyone wanted to visit the site – many of the Year 11 girls had done their coursework on Pompeii, and everyone had certainly heard about what had happened to destroy the city (on 24^th August AD79 – Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city of Pompeii and other neighbouring towns in up to 40 feet of ash and pumice stone). There was not as long a time to spend here as hoped but it was certainly enough to see the amphitheatre, the main street (Via dell’ Abbondanza), a variety of houses with reconstructed gardens, fabulous mosaics and wall paintings, the Stabian Baths (with the plaster cast bodies) and the forum. A brief respite in the weather enabled some to take a photograph of Mount Vesuvius peering through the clouds. All too soon it was time to head back to Fregene – the right way this time.

The weather on both Tuesday and Wednesday could not have been more different – we entered Rome in triumph (I navigated this time to ensure that we did not get lost) and in the glorious sunshine. Having left the coach parked in the Via Gregorio VII, we walked the students towards the Basilica of St. Peter and the Vatican City. The looks of sheer amazement at the sight of the basilica on both the faces of the students and even one of the drivers was quite a picture. It is a very grand structure in white marble, the piazza in front of it was being chaired ready for a religious function so access to the building itself was somewhat restricted. After 30 minutes spent in this area, taking photographs and having ice cream – yes, even at 11.00am – it was time to organise the party into their teacher-led groups for the walk to the centre of ancient Rome – the forum. Crossing over the River Tiber we walked the length of the Via Vittorio Emmanuele II towards ‘his’ monument in the Piazza Venezia. This route took us past an old Roman forum in the Largo Argentina. The Piazza Venezia itself is a driver’s nightmare – the roads come in all directions, certain areas are one way and there is so much to see and look out for as you go round. Looking towards the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuele (who unified Italy) you have the Palazzo Venezia on your right, from which Mussolini addressed the gathered masses during World War II. The main road behind you is the Via del Corso – Rome’s main shopping street, similar to Oxford Street but better. Off this road are the routes to several other key attractions – the Piazza Navona, which used to an ancient Roman stadium, the Trevi Fountain and the Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. Depending where you stand in the Piazza Venezia you can see the column of Emperor Trajan and his markets, and in the far background the Colosseum itself. After a lunch break and with the firm instruction not to shop, we then headed along the Via dei Fori Imperiali to the main Roman forum and the Colosseum. A few hours were spent exploring these areas before the group split – a smaller number walked to the Trevi Fountain with some of the staff, whilst the rest had the chance to experience Roman buses firsthand. We all met up again later at the coach park for the return to out hotel. The second day in Rome was a day of leisure. On arriving back at St. Peter’s for the start of the day, wehad the opportunity to see the Pope delivering a speech from a specially erected platform. Then armed with maps, my mobile phone number and instructions on the best areas to visit for shopping and additional sights, the party divided into smaller groups to have a chance to explore further. Everyone came back laden with shopping bags to the meeting place at the Vatican. Some of the more adventurous had even taken a ride in a horse-drawn carozza (carriage).

This was our last night in Fregene before heading back to Montecatini. On the way back we made a planned detour to Pisa to visit the Leaning Tower. The typical photograph shoot took place of various students pretending to hold up the tower. Again the weather made the visit even better but all too soon it was time to head for the hotel and see whether the receptionist had mellowed in our absence – a definitive NO, although her mother was very pleased to see us. Out last ‘free’ night in Italy involved most girls going out for a farewell ice cream etc.

On the Friday, after last minute shopping for the journey, it was time to set off for the return by coach to Calais and then Gravesend. Why is it that the journey back always seems quicker??? Finally, after a hearty cooked breakfast on the ferry we said goodbye to our drivers at Dover, and welcomed our ‘feeder’ driver for the rest of the trip. We arrived back in the Avenue mid-morning, tired but full of the sights and experiences of Italy.

I would like to say a personal thank you to the staff who accompanied the trip and to all the girls who took part, I hope that you all enjoyed your visit to one of my favourite countries. I shall be taking a year off from running a Classics trip abroad but the current Year 9 can be assured that they will have the chance to go when they are in Year 11; and I know that you will have a great time. There are many photographs from the trip on show on the noticeboard outside the Classics room (room 3).

Arrivederci,

Miss K. Vamplew.

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