Latin students to tour Italy over Spring Break
By Harry Gong
Last week, Latin students at Saints wrote the National Latin Exam. The 40-minute contest marks the halfway point of their strenuous endeavour with the classical language this academic year. Despite its brevity, the exam lends much enthusiasm, frustration, and anguish to students in grades 8 through 12 alike (ēheu!). But the usual complaints outside the examination room gave way to something exciting brewing around the corner (euge!).
Rome: Ancient Roman monuments amid an ecclesiastical backdrop.
Over March break, 32 Latin students will set out for Italy for a 13-day search of cultural treasures in regions they’ve long explored in their course. The tour covers Florence, Rome, and Campania, renowned not only for their central roles in Ancient Rome but also for the rich history they’ve developed as hubs of the Renaissance. Some of their destinations also offer immense scenic beauty. And, of course, throughout the tour, the group will immerse themselves in the local’s sweet and vibrant culinary lives.
With their beloved Latin teacher Ms. Catherine Mori, the group will set out on March 12 to Florence, where they will spend four days bathing in the city’s Renaissance art and architecture. Highlights include visits to such artistically influential places as the Cathedral, the Uffizi Gallery, the Palazzo della Signoria.
Architecture of the Piazza della Signoria.
In the following four days, they will visit Rome, the Eternal City where different cultures spanning three millennia—from the Roman Republic to the Papal States—left their indelible architectural imprints. Finally, the students will travel to Sorrento, a small town overhanging the Mediterranean, minutes away from Pompeii and Naples. The pristine waters ideal for swimming and snorkelling give way to the island of Capri, home to Roman emperors’ opulent villas and a renowned pirate’s base. The trip will conclude with a trip to Pompeii, a specimen of the early Empire’s bustling commercial and private life frozen in time by the eruption of Vesuvius.
Rock formations off the island of Capri.
Latin students have boasted for years that the language they’re learning is “not dead, it’s IMMORTAL!” Might this trip prove their point?