Student Travel
Beginning in the summer of 2024, we are excited to invite students on a new opportunity for immersive learning and college guidance - student travel to Rome, Italy. Designed in collaboration with Dr. Paul Treherne, a resident expert with decades of experience teaching and leading student travel in Italy, our inaugural student travel program balances expeditionary learning in the ancient city and its environs and intensive college essay writing workshops. We are inviting a small cohort of motivated students to pioneer this trip with us.
Art, Archaeology, and Essay: Rome, Summer 2024
June 14 - June 29, 2024
Week one finds us residing on the Janiculum Hill of Rome, at the campus of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies, overlooking the Castello Sant'Angelo, the Vatican City, and the lively neighborhood of Trastevere. Each day will bring new explorations of the ancient city and expert guidance from Paul and other local guides. In addition to exploring the city, we will engage daily essay workshops.
Week two we decamp to a beautiful farm near the town of Tuscania. There, in addition to our daily walks and hikes exploring Etruscan, Roman, Romanesque, and Renaissance history, and our obligatory essay work, we are extraordinarily fortunate to observe a sponsored archaeological dig on the property itself.
The goals of this program are ambitious: profound engagement with Rome and its environs, substantive essay writing, total cultural engagement, and meaningful, new friendships.
We expect that participants will bring energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to this two-week program.
The inspiration for this trip springs from my alma mater, St. Stephen's School in Rome, a unique international boarding school where engagement with the ancient city and the Roman countryside is integral to the curriculum. St. Stephen's hosts extensive student travel programming, with the core values of walking, experiencing, and learning. Throw on a knapsack, grab your water bottle, and let's see what the day holds. We will connect will local experts, eat local and characteristic foods, and explore sites, neighborhoods, and towns on foot. This is the St. Stephen's way. It is my dream to share some small part of this magic with students I have the privilege of working with.
View of the Roman forum from the Capitoline hill
This program promises exceptional learning and meaningful progress on college essays (recent grads will produce an academic paper for presentation to the group). Students will navigate the city, experience Roman culture, and tap into ancient and modern rhythms.
Summer clouds over the market stalls of Campo de'Fiori
After selecting fresh ingredients from the market, we'll grab pizza rosa at the neighborhood Forno Campo de' Fiori, then walk through the alley to Piazza Farnese to study Michaelango's facade of the Palazzo Farnese.
Over course of our first week, we will explore whole swaths of the city of Rome. We'll visit open-air archaeological sites, churches, and museums where new, immersive technology exhibits bring history to life.
Departing Rome for the second half of our trip, we will reside on one of the most beautiful farms in Tuscany. From our base at Casa Caponetti, we will explore cities, towns, and historical sites.
Buona fortuna - an archaeological dig of an Etruscan site on the property will be ongoing during our stay.
In addition to our walks from the farm itself, Tuscania enjoys perfect access to cultural and historical sites that are untrammeled by summer tourists. This is how Tuscany should be enjoyed!
View of the town of Tuscania from the olive groves of Casa Caponetti
What are you waiting for? Rome is magnificent in the summer! With insider knowledge we'll avoid the tourist traps and make the most of our time together.
Grab your passport! Andiamo a Roma!
Put on some comfortable walking shoes and prendere un espresso. Cypress-studded hills and ancient mosaic floors await. We hope to enroll a cohort of 8-14 students for this inaugural trip.
The Pantheon's coffered ceiling with oculus. Constructed circa 126 AD by the emperor Hadrian
To learn more details, please read our invitation letter for current juniors or our invitation letter for current seniors. Next, please read our flyer. At this time, we are circulating the invitation to current students, friends and families, and referrals, with the goal of enrolling an intentional, close-knit, and amazing group of students.
If you know someone who needs to learn more about this program, please feel free to share this link.
Grazie infinite e a presto!
View of the Palatine hill from the sanctuary of the Vestae