Yesterday the students attended their first Italian Life and Culture lecture. Christina Mifsud, a resident of Florence, presented a talk on the Urbanization of Florence. Interestingly, we learned that Christina served as Senator Ted Kennedy's tour guide when he visited Florence in both 1996 and 2006. Why was he here these specific years? Way back in 1966, when Florence was devastated by the Great Flood, Ted Kennedy arrived shortly after as an ambassador of the U.S. He then returned to the city for both the 30- and 40-year anniversaries of this tragedy. How exciting for Christina to be able to show him around!
We also learned that there's a road right outside our school called Via Roma. It crosses the Arno and eventually turns into Via Romana, which is indeed the "Road That Leads to Rome."
This was an appropriate thing to learn given that many of the students will be going to Rome this weekend on the AIFS trip. This fantastic weekend trip will give them a chance to see such famous Rome sites as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Vatican Museums.
I wish I were going with them so that I could record the trip for the blog, but I'm heading the opposite direction this weekend -- to Switzerland! I'll be back online Monday. Ciao!
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