SA Alumni & Friends Italy Trip

MARCH 2020 NAPLES SORRENTO POMPEII FLORENCE ORVIETO ROME VA T I C A N UFFIZI DUOMO S A N TA C R O C E FLORENCE COOKING SCHOOL O R V I E T O V I N E YA R D BORGHESE VA T I C A N COLOSSEUM/FORUM

GOSAINTS.ORG/ITALY

ART ARCHITECTURE C U LT U R E CUISINE HISTORY

ALUMNI + FRIENDS St. Andrew’s Episcopal School’s Global Studies Program offers students the opportunity to

travel the world, visiting a variety of countries and learning about different cultures. We continue to expand our horizons by offering travel opportunities to you – our beloved alumni and friends. Join us on a journey through Italy, led by former teacher and Italy expert Patsy Ricks, along with several of our outstanding current teachers.

This one-of-a-kind, nine-day trip will open your eyes to the wonders of Italy through specially-crafted excursions and enriching cultural immersions. In addition to visiting the country’s artistic and architectural treasures, you will experience unique offerings such as tours through Tuscany’s wine region and a lesson with a professional Italian chef at the Florence Cooking School.

With the spirit of St. Andrew’s woven through each detail, the St. Andrew’s Alumni & Friends Italy Trip is an opportunity not to be missed. We offer you an excellent value, including specially arranged meals, all group excursions and comfortable accommodations. Additionally, your participation will help fund scholarships for St. Andrew’s students to travel with the Global Studies Program.

ITINERARY DAY 1 | TRAVEL Depart from Jackson, Miss., Thursday morning.

DAY 2 | NAPLES TO SORRENTO Upon arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, you will board a charter bus to Naples where you will visit the Archaeological Museum of Naples. In addition to various visiting exhibits, this museum features finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum following the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. From Naples you will take a charter bus to Sorrento, capping off the evening with a walking tour of this stunning coastal town.

DAY 3 | POMPEII Start your morning with a train ride to Pompeii. Take a guided tour of this once-thriving Roman city, which was buried beneath ash from Mount Vesuvius’s eruption. Your day will conclude in Sorrento, where your group will enjoy an activity of your choice before dinner.

DAY 4 | FLORENCE Sunday morning take a train to Florence. One of the most popular sites in Italy, Florence sits as the capital city of Italy’s region of Tuscany. Known as “the Athens of the Middle Ages,” Florence is thought of as the birthplace of the Renaissance and was a European business hub. Because of its awe-inspiring art and architecture, Florence has been ranked one of the most beautiful cities in the world (Forbes 2010, Harper’s Bazaar 2017). After arriving in Florence in the early afternoon you will be guided through the Uffizi Galleries, which house works by Botticelli, Titian, Caravaggio, and Da Vinci, amongst many others, as well as The Academy, the home of Michelangelo’s David. Before dinner, you will have the option to attend mass at the city’s main Cathedral, the Duomo.

DAY 5 | FLORENCE Monday will also be spent in Florence, with a guided walking tour of the city’s architectural highlights, including the church of Orsanmichele, the sculptures of the Loggia dei Lanzi, the basilica of Santa Croce, the Ponte Vecchio, the cathedral’s Baptistry with its famous Gates of Paradise, and the Duomo, ending with the option to scale its dome. After some free time for shopping and other sight-seeing opportunities, the day will conclude with a cooking school, where you will learn to cook your own four-course Tuscan meal.

DAY 6 | ORVIETO and ROME Your day begins with a train ride to Orvieto, an Etruscan hilltop town famous for the wine which bares its name. There you will tour the Tenuta Le Velette vineyards, weather permitting, and have a wine tasting and lunch at their restaurant overlooking the Tuscan countryside. After lunch you will board the train and continue on to Rome. Upon arriving, your group will take a walking tour of the city including famous sites such as the city overlook near the Villa Borghese, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Trevi Fountain.

DAY 7 | VATICAN Wednesday you will step inside the walls of Vatican City – its own independent city-state surrounded by Rome – where you will visit several of the world’s most renowned architectural and artistic attractions. In addition to exploring the Vatican Museums, take your gaze skyward as you journey through the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, with an option to climb its dome for amazing views of the Eternal City. Your group will finish the day with a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, followed by a 14-stop food tour through this trendy Roman neighborhood.

DAY 8 | ROME The Roman Colosseum – standing at the heart of the city – remains one of the world’s most famed landmarks. Your group will take a tour through this iconic amphitheater, which dates back to 80 AD. Following your tour, take the short trip to the ancient Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, home to some of the most spectacular views of the surrounding city and home to the ruins of the ancient city center. The day concludes with a visit to the Borghese Gallery and Museum along with time for souvenir shopping.

DAY 9 | TRAVEL Depart from Rome on Friday morning – arrive in Jackson, Miss. in the evening. *Note: this trip requires extensive walking, up to 10 miles on some days. Use of trains or shuttles are included in the trip cost, but you will have the opportunity to take taxis at your own personal cost.

SITES + SCENES UFFIZI GALLERIES

Originally built in 1581 as the “offices” of the Medici family, the Uffizi galleries opened to the public in 1765, after the last Medici heiress gifted the building and its art collections as a museum to the city of Florence in her will. Now one of the most visited art museums in the world, the Uffizi houses an unrivaled collection of Renaissance and Baroque art.

DUOMO

Completed in 1436, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, known colloquially as the Duomo, dominates the skyline of Florence’s historic city center. With its beautiful polychrome marble façade and interior frescoes of the Last Judgment by Vasari, this iconic structure is topped by a seemingly impossibly large-sized dome created by master architect and engineer, Filippo Brunelleschi. During your trip, not only will you learn about the Cathedral and the incredible story behind the construction of its dome, but you will also have the option to attend mass inside the church and scale the dome for wonderful views of the city.

SANTA CROCE

The Basilica of Santa Croce, built in 1294, serves as the principle Franciscan church in Florence. Faced with the same exterior as the Duomo, inside you will find beautiful wood-beamed ceilings, heavily frescoed walls, and the Pazzi chapel, another work Brunelleschi. Yet the greatest attraction on display is the funerary monuments to many famous Florentines, including Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli, to name only a few.

FLORENCE COOKING SCHOOL

With the guidance of an expert chef in a fully equipped kitchen, your group will prepare a typical four-course Italian dinner. Enjoy dinner with Tuscany wine and recipes of what you prepared to recreate upon your return home.

ORVIETO VINEYARD

Tour Tenuta Le Vellette, a renowned estate that houses exceptionally-kept vineyards and produces some of Orvieto’s finest wines. Your visit includes wine tastings and a buffet lunch.

BORGHESE

The Galleria Borghese sits in the middle of the Rome’s largest urban park known as the Villa Borghese. Originally built by the Borghese family as a palace to hold its vast art collection, today this palace is an art museum renowned for its collection of Baroque sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

VATICAN

Rome’s most visited site, the Vatican allures pilgrims and tourists alike with its awe-inspiring architecture and vast art collections. The world’s smallest independent country, Vatican City boasts a dazzling concentration of monuments from the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica to the Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

COLOSSEUM/FORUM

One of Rome’s most famous monuments, the Colosseum stands as an iconic symbol of the Eternal City’s ancient past. As the largest surviving Roman amphitheater, the Colosseum, once the venue for gladiator fights, today it hosts nearly 4 million visitors per year who experience the wonder evoked by its grand scale and long history.

NAPLES SORRENTO POMPEII FLORENCE ORVIETO ROME VA T I C A N