Y7 & 8 Italy Trip 2023

Just before February half-term Years 7 and 8 set off on an amazing trip to Italy for 8 days. First stop was Rome where the first evening was spent touring the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps before a delicious dinner. Next day bright and early it was off to the Pantheon to find Raphael’s tomb before a short coach ride to visit Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli. It is so extensive, the size of a small town, that it was impossible to visit it all. Some great sketching was done by the Canopus by everyone. Friday was the day to visit the great sites of Rome; the theatre of Marcellus, the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), the Forum and the Circus Maximus. In between time some souvenir shopping was fitted in at the Piazza Navona. The last day in Rome saw an early morning visit to St Peter’s Basilica before moving onto Florence.

The Uffizi was the first of many art galleries to be visited, sketching was done at the Ospedale degli Innocenti where lunch was enjoyed in the warm spring sunshine. The afternoon saw more sketching of the David in the Accademia, followed by a trip to the Ponte Vecchio. Finally, there was a chance to rub the boar’s nose and to do some shopping in the Mercato Nuevo. On Monday morning the group climbed up inside Brunelleschi’s Dome to get some great panoramic views of Florence before sketching a younger version of David in the Bargello. In the afternoon everyone was amazed by many of Leonardo’s inventions and the chance to get hands-on with some model machines was thoroughly enjoyable. The final full day of the trip was initially spent sketching in the monastery of San Marco, before an energetic and noisy climb up Giotto’s Bell Tower – it coincided with the ringing of the noon bells! A fun spotter session at the guildhall of Orsanmichele was followed by a final view of frescoes and Renaissance art at the Pazzi chapel and church of Santa Croce. A final spot of souvenir shopping rounded off the trip before the return home the next day. Despite lengthy delays on our flight the group was reunited with their families where excited chatter told of happy memories being shared. A great trip!