A Classroom Without Walls: 10 Days in Italy

Imagine being 13 or 14 years old, standing before any one of a number of architectural masterpieces in Italy and teaching your peers about it. 

Our eighth graders did this and so much more during their just completed 10-day Italian Study Tour of Assisi, Florence, and Rome. The trip provided the opportunity for the boys to visit in-situ the actual paintings, sculpture, and architectural sites they have studied and researched in their art history class. At each site, they deepened their understanding through reflective journaling and sketching what they saw. Some examples:

• At Santa Croce, an eighth grader teaches his classmates about the Niccolo Matas, the Jewish architect who designed the basilica's facade: “You can see the Star of David at the top of the Church, despite it being Franciscan.” 



• At ll Duomo, a boy shares the design considerations that went into constructing Filippo Brunelleschi's dome: "They used an octagon shape and ribs to help support and distribute the weight all over the dome."
  
  
• At the Church of Santa Maria Novella, one boy records his reflections/observations when sketching: “The high ceilings complement the large windows by letting in tons of light. (This is) important as light was seen as God. The building also includes pointed gothic arches that are directed towards God above."

The Italian Study Tour is a longstanding capstone experience for our graduating class and their teachers. This year, our flight landed in Rome on Tuesday morning, March 10. A majestic blue sky awaited us on our first stop: the medieval city of Assisi. Against the beautiful Umbrian hillside setting, we viewed the magnificent frescoes of Giotto during a tour of the Basilica of St. Francis. Our Assisi visit concluded with lunch at Enoteca San Pietro, the first of several delicious meals we would share during the trip. 

Four days each in Florence and Rome ensued. In preparation for the trip, the boys had been assigned an iconic Renaissance building in Florence to research. They learned about the building, its patron, architect, and significance; and they shared the results of their inquiries with each other. They also wrote an essay about their team's effort and created a visual representation of the building in the medium of their choice, using skills learned and practiced in observational drawing classes. When they reached their site in Italy, they presented their findings to their fellow classmates and faculty. 

In Rome, walking through the Colosseum and Forum, and visiting the Capitoline Museum transported us back to the Roman Empire, with boys making connections to their study of Ancient Rome in the seventh grade. In an antidote to the often-frenetic pace of contemporary life, we ask the boys to stop and sit still in front of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. To sit, look closely, draw what they see, and then to reflect upon it in their journals--one way to spark critical thinking and help make their thinking visible.

Beyond the art and architecture, there are the Chapel talks each morning after breakfast, afternoon sports in Circus Maximus, and animated discussions about each day’s experiences after dinner. And, there’s the gelato, the pizza, the celebration of birthdays that fall during the trip. 

This trip, an expedition of aesthetic discovery and personal growth, is memorable for the boys and teachers alike. Experiencing countless centuries-old masterpieces first-hand cannot help but inspire the desire to excel--to be the best that we personally can be, both in the endeavors we embrace and the lives that we lead. By the tour's end, we had covered hundreds of miles, viewed countless masterpieces, and deepened the bonds of our graduating class. Ut Viri Boni Sint.