*This week we farewelled a group of excited Year 8 students ready to embark on a trip that pulls together many of the threads they have studied during their Senior years at Ficino. Spending three weeks traversing the Renaissance movement through Rome, Florence and England, their departure brought back memories of trips past.

Monuments and ruins lie everywhere throughout Rome, but these will pale when they step inside the Pantheon. Built about 2000 years ago, this temple to all the gods is the best preserved of all the buildings of Ancient Rome. Once inside, the eyes are drawn up to the expanse of the great dome, a marvel of engineering that is open to the sky. As the largest unreinforced continuous concrete arch in the world, it is an inspiring place to be.

They will get to connect further with the genius of the emperor, Hadrian, when they visit the ruins of his villa in the hills about an hour out of Rome.

There is so much to say about Rome, and they will see many other wonderful things there, such as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. St Peter’s Basilica and the marvellous collection in the Vatican Museum together with the brilliance of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel will be enjoyed.

I shall leave my reminiscing of the trip’s first few days in Rome and look forward to hearing the students’ experiences on their return.

Mr Hamish Hudson
Year 8 Teacher
* As summarised by the Roving Reporter