Ranney School Class of 2023 Italy Cultural Journey
Program Blog
Latest Updates
Grand Finale
Fast adaptation to the city
This morning, as we discovered during our daily discussion, the group was struck by a wave of crippling lethargy. After struggling through our breakfast at 9:30, we gathered the strength to go to the Borghese gardens. We witnessed a breathtaking view over Rome, listened to some street music, bought some trinkets, and explored the beautiful nature. It certainly helped us wake up and prepare for the day’s paramount destination: the Colosseum. We left the gardens to find lunch, which turned out to be no easy task. On top of Christian’s decision to do some spontaneous shopping on route delaying us, the small restaurant we stopped at was not prepared for our many orders of supplì, which nearly made us late for our 2:30 time slot at the Colosseum. But we wouldn’t have it any other way, as supplì quickly became the group’s favorite treat. We walked quickly through the crowds and made it to the Colosseum.
Laid back country to the eternal city
Written by Kirin Patient & Maria Guiliano
Agriturismoculture
Written by Robert Nagy III & Kevin Twomey
Today was a great outdoors day! We all were up and ready to go after breakfast around 10:30, and took a 5 mile walk to the tiny, historic town of Murlo. The hike lasted just under 2 hours each way and we learned about many local animals, insects, plants, and landmarks along the path that helped us all better understand the environment and its history. The path consisted of different signs about the past which included a train that ran through the forest, and an old cement industrial plant. In Murlo, we enjoyed a meal at the sole restaurant which was preordered for our arrival. From then, we were able to check out the rest of the town and were delighted to magnificent views of the area. At the center of Murlo, there is a museum dedicated to all of the ancient artifacts that were uncovered by archaeologists, most as students of the University of Massachusetts. We were given a tour of the museum and were able to better understand the culture, and society built by the founders of the town. Following our tour, we walked back to the house on the same trail, and were treated to homemade quiche and pizza. From then, we hung out together and had a great time before calling it a day.
From city vibe to countryside
Discovering Florence
For our second day in Italy we began our day with our first breakfast in the hotel where they served a small variety of different pastries for us to enjoy. We went on a tour around the streets of Florence where we visited the church of Santa Trinita, Lungoarno, and Pitti Palace. It was at this last location that we got to explore the wonderful Boboli Gardens, which had a variety of different sculptures but severely lacked in plants besides grass. We finished the day by enjoying the sunset on the Piazzale Michelangelo with some gelato and had dinner at the trattoria Pandemonia Di Casa Brogi.
Arriving Bella Italia
Written by Maria Guiliano & Kirin Patient