Travelling Boosts Love for Italy

Centro Scuola e Cultura introduces youth to culture while gaining school credits

As soon as they debarked from the plane that carried them back to Toronto, as soon as they rejoined their parents in the hall, the kids started clamouring euphorically that they wanted to return to Italy.
Enthusiasm is very high and it matches a newfound love for Italy. "I loved every place I visited; I feel tempted to pack my things and move to Italy, and this would make my father really happy," says Laura Morreale. "The landscapes looked like paintings. I wanted to take pictures all the time," adds Julian.
These 50 students saw Italy with their own eyes thanks to the close collaboration between Centro Scuola e Cultura Italiana and the York and Toronto Catholic District School Boards that allowed them to enjoy a study-trip in the Land of Beauty during the March Break.
This important initiative, in addition to giving these young fellows a chance to discover the country of origin of their parents, also allows them to obtain recognition of credits for their diplomas. "These young Ontarians had the opportunity to spend a day with Italian students of their same age at Pescara's Istituto Manthonè," explains Alberto Di Giovanni, director of Centro Scuola. "Before taking this trip they had already attended 60 hours of lessons in Italian language and Greek and Roman history, and in Italy they received 60 more hours valid for school credits recognized by the Ministry of Education of Ontario."
However, what made this trip really unforgettable for them was the experience itself, the discovery that Italy is even more beautiful than they had imagined or their elders' tales had conveyed. "The study of Italian language and culture, and of ancient, medieval and Renaissance history," remarks Di Giovanni, "get richly enhanced by the experience in Italy. Both linguistically and culturally, the students enjoy extraordinary learning opportunities, as their motivation leads them to truly outstanding results."
With Di Giovanni, the students were accompanied by Maria Popolo, principal at St. Augustine; Nancy Torresan, teacher at St. Robert; and Maria Fantauzzi, teacher and official of the Toronto Catholic District School Board; their expressions showed, as much as the students', the satisfaction for a job well done.
In Italy, visiting cities like Venice, Verona, Florence, Siena, Rome, Atri, Pescara, and Sulmona, the children rediscover their pride of being Italian. "Reality is different from their imagination: they live for a few days immersed in Italy's atmosphere and fall in love with these cities, so rich in history, art, and culture," continues Di Giovanni. "They also do not fail to appreciate the hospitality of young Italians, their willingness, their warmth."
These cultural and linguistic trips, that Centro Scuola has been organizing for over 20 years, stimulate kids to return, to give a segue to such an experience. "Another group will leave in April," comments Di Giovanni. "In consideration of the delicate situation caused by the war on Iraq, we asked the kids whether they are still determined to go to Italy in a few weeks. The answer was a chorus of 'But of course! War or no war, we intend to go.' They were irremovable."
They had no intention of giving up this study trip, long cherished and soon to become reality with its churches, museums, people, bars, unique lifestyle...
"Verona, despite our very brief visit, is the best city where I could live: large enough, modern, but with a typically Italian style," remarked Marc Longo, recently returned from his March Break in Italy.
Julian also liked Verona very much. "I was awed by the Arena and by Juliet's balcony, where the walls are covered with hearts and thousands of messages from lovers," adds the student, "but I must say that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is so beautiful and spectacular that I was left speechless."
Some of the students, such as. Marc Longo, took advantage of this opportunity to observe the Italian school system first-hand and compare it with the Canadian one. "I loved visiting the high school in Pescara and understanding what their school day is like," summarized Longo. "Seeing how the Italian system works can be useful in trying and improving our own."
The Canadian teenagers observed school, art, good food ("Food is excellent here, and we've been having a lot of it!" says Julian), but also life in the squares, in the marketplaces, in the streets. "Everybody dresses nice in Italy," notes Laura Morreale; "even older people wear nice shoes and jackets. Everybody's really well groomed and elegant."
The trip also dispelled Laura's worries about communication. "At first I was a bit nervous because I was afraid of spending hours with people who could speak no English," she says. "Then I found out that Susanna, the student who had invited us for lunch at her home, spoke rather good English, so we chatted about school and music and it turned out that she likes the Guns'n'Roses. We went shopping in real cool stores... it was a beautiful experience."
On average, every year five to six thousand students share this experience, thanks to Centro Scuola. "Many of them return to Italy several times," concludes Di Giovanni. "The very fact that they desire to go back as soon as possible is a measure of the success of this initiative, an initiative we believed in since its beginning."

Publication Date: 2003-04-06
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=2579