This year our annual school trip took us to the Italian island, Sicily, from 16 – 22 November. The group was made up of students from KS3, KS4 and KS5, Years 7-13.
On the first day, we visited Monreale, a town where the famous Duomo Cathedral was built in the twelfth century. We were in awe of the beautiful medieval mosaics inside the Cathedral. Next, we walked through the main street of Palermo, looking at the monuments, the Theatro Massimo and the Fontana Pretoria.
The following day we travelled to Corleone, the place considered to be the original home of the Mafia. There we went to a museum and learnt about the horrible ways of the Mafia. We all felt sorry for the people who lived there. Afterwards, we visited Villa Del Kasale, an ancient Roman villa, the floors of which are covered in frescoes.
Our next destination was Mount Etna where we climbed into the crater and enjoyed the snow, as well as a view of the sea. Then we were taken to Taormina, to a Greek amphitheatre which also had a panoramic view.
We went to Catania the next day, saw the Cathedral of St Agatha and walked through Elephant Square…and we had some free time to go shopping.
In Syracuse on our last day, we saw Roman aqueducts and realised how ahead of their time the Romans were in their engineering skills. We also learnt what war was like in the olden times and about the sieges of Syracuse. The tour ended with a visit to another amphitheatre carved out of a giant rock.
