CC – Chesapeake College – Italy 2024

DAY 1 – DEPARTURE – Saturday, May 25

Depart Home for Rome, Italy

DAY 2 – ROME – Sunday, May 26 

Arrive in Rome, Italy
Orientation Walking Tour – The group will become oriented with their neighborhood, the public transportation systems, nearby pharmacies, markets, ATMs, etc. Additionally, an in-depth safety briefing will be provided for what to do incase of an emergency.

Welcome Dinner at Traditional Pizzeria – The group will be taken for an authentic Italian pizza dinner with a wide variety options to cater all diets. 

DAY 3 – ROME – Monday, May 27 

Breakfast & Day Briefing 

Montessori School Visit – Maria Montessori’s method is famous worldwide: “Help me do it by myself”. The fist Montessori school (Casa dei Bambini) was opened in Rome in 1907. Since then, this successful method has spread. You’ll have the opportunity to get introduced to the Montessori approach where it started. 

Guided Tour of Colosseum & Roman Forum – The Colosseum (Colosseo) remains the largest amphitheater ever built and is one of the most recognizable and iconic symbols of Rome. The 5-story, elliptical structure measures 617-feet long, 512-feet wide, and 187-feet high and is made of travertine and brick.

Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

DAY 4 – ROME – Tuesday, May 28 

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Public High School Visit – Meet the teachers, sit in one class, learn about special education and the experimental programs of Italian schools

Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter’s Basilica – The museum displays works from the immense collection amassed by popes throughout the centuries including several of the most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employ 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.

Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

DAY 5 – ROME/FLORENCE – Wednesday, May 29 

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Train to Florence (Approx. 2 hours), Check-in
Accademia Gallery – It is best known as the home of Michelangelo’s sculpture David. It also has other sculptures by Michelangelo and a large collection of paintings by Florentine artists, mostly from the period 1300–1600

San Lorenzo Market – Plunge into the Italian market scene by visiting Florence’s most famous outdoor and indoor market at San Lorenzo. Discover local traditions, regional food, clothes and much more! 

Florence Walking Tour – Duomo, Medici Palace, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio

Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

DAY 6 – FLORENCE – Thursday, May 30 

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Uffizi Gallery – The Gallery entirely occupies the first and second floors of the large building constructed between 1560 and 1580 and designed by Giorgio Vasari. It is famous worldwide for its outstanding collections of ancient sculptures and paintings (from the Middle Ages to the Modern period).

Oblate Library – Discover the Florentine students’ lifestyle in this library and cultural center in a 14th century monastery, with wonderful cloisters and a terrace overlooking the Duomo. 

Sunset View from Piazzale Michelangelo

DAY 7 – FLORENCE – Friday, May 31 

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Day Trip to Pisa

Leaning Tower & Cathedral, Miracle Square – Already tilting when it was completed in 1372, the 56m white-marble cylinder is the bell tower of the Romanesque, striped-marble cathedral that rises next to it in the Piazza dei Miracoli

Return to Florence 

DAY 8 – FLORENCE – Saturday, June 1 

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Sant’Ambrogio Market

Lunch Break 

Free Time to Explore Florence 

DAY 9 – FLORENCE/REGGIO EMILIA – Sunday, June 2  

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Transfer to Reggio Emilia (approx.2h), Check-in

Reggio Emilia Historical & Cultural Walking Tour – Piazza Prampolini, Piazza Fontanesi, Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, Teatro Valli, Parco Cervi

Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

DAY 10 – REGGIO EMILIA – Monday, June 3

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Full Day at Loris Malaguzzi International Center

10 AM – Introduction to the history and the values of the Reggio Emilia Approach – The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy based on the image of the child, and of human beings, as possessing strong potentials for development and as a subject of rights who learns and grows in the relationships with others.

Guided Tour of the Center: visit of the interactive spaces, the exploration and research workshops.

Q&A, Debate

Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

DAY 11 – REGGIO EMILIA/BOLOGNA – Tuesday, June 4 

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Full Day at Loris Malaguzzi International Center

Introduction to the Culture of the Atelier and Interactive Workshop in a Dedicated Atelier

Lunch Break 

A local Pedagogist Answers the Questions and Can Deepen some Topics with Students 

Train to Bologna (approx.1h), Check-in

DAY 12 – BOLOGNA – Wednesday, June 5

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Guided Tour of the University of Bologna – Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students, it is the oldest university in the world, as well as one of the leading academic institutions in Italy and Europe. It is one of the most prestigious Italian universities, commonly ranking in the first places of national rankings.

Lunch Break 

Bologna Historical & Cultural Walking Tour –  Piazza Maggiore, Basilica of St. Petronio, Fountain of Neptune, the Two Towers, Archiginnasio (the old headquarters of Bologna University).

Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

DAY 13 – BOLOGNA/ROME – Thursday, June 6

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Transfer to Rome (approx. 2h), Check-in

Lunch Break & Free Time 

Ancient Appian Way – The first road ever built by the Romans, surrounded by a charming park: many ancient monument are located here, such as the Circus of Maxentius and the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella.

Farewell Dinner & Program Closing 

DAY 14 – DEPARTURE – Friday, June 7

Breakfast & Day Briefing

Airport Transfer

Depart Rome, Italy for Home