Over the May half term, a group of Sixth Form Classicists, together with a small number of KES pupils from the Upper Middles and Fourths, travelled to Sicily to explore some of the most important sites of the ancient Mediterranean world. Here's a report from one of our Lower Sixth pupils.
On Monday 25 May, our group departed for an excruciatingly early flight from London Gatwick to the airport at Catania on the island of Sicily. We spent our first day in Syracuse, the home of Archimedes, learning about the island’s history at the indoor archaeological museum, before enduring the short but sweltering walk to the nearby ruins of Neapolis and the Greek theatre. We spent an hour exploring the site before visiting the Ear of Dionysus, an ancient quarry, where we spent the next hour hiding from the sun and testing the acoustics. Afterwards we headed to the hotel for a much-needed refresher, then said goodbye to our lovely tour guide before walking to the connected island of Ortygia to marvel at a beautiful cathedral (previously temple to Athena) and then to a very welcome dinner.
The second day was equally as hot, if not hotter, than the first, leading to us wholeheartedly agreeing with our new tour guide that the most beautiful part of the sun was the shade. She led us around the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento teaching us the history and culture of Sicily. We witnessed a role play from two of our party of the claiming of Athens, and a traditional Greek marriage between two volunteers. We visited several temples including that of Heracles – which in its full glory would have been bigger than the Parthenon – and then we learnt about the telamons (giant statues that held up the roof of the temple) at a nearby museum. The day ended at our second hotel with a dinner of pasta and – for most of us – ice cream and then we headed to our rooms to prepare for the last full day of our trip.
Our third day started off by visiting the Villa Romana del Casale to look at an array of mosaics, including the ‘Ladies in Bikinis’ mosaic of women doing various sports, where we puzzled over the strange appearance of the relay baton. After exploring the villa, we rushed back to the coach to head to Catania, taking pictures of the sights along the way such as views of Mount Etna and a group photo overlooking the gorgeous town of Piazza Armerina. In Catania we completed a very hot but equally informative walking tour around the city, where we learnt about its eventful and particularly volcanic history before spending some free time to explore the city centre and buy souvenirs. We enjoyed our last dinner in Sicily of pasta alla norma, fried chicken or mozzarella and a refreshing fruit salad before enjoying ice cream in the piazza as a group. Heading to the hotel, we were greeted with a quiz themed on our trip from a spectacular quizmaster before heading to bed.
On the last morning, we went on our way to Taormina, to see the best-preserved Greek theatre and walk along the street of the hilltop town, before riding the coach back to Catania to say goodbye to Sicily.
Overall, the trip was extremely fun and made all the better by the teachers and the other students – we wish it had lasted longer!
Giustine (Lower Sixth)
