By April Lehmbeck
C & G Staff Writer

EASTPOINTE — When planning a trip to Italy, East Detroit High School student Nicholas Hitchcock said he wanted to “see (the country’s) wonderful sites,” and that’s exactly what he and a handful of students did while on a recent tour of the culturally rich country.

The students raised money during the school year so that they would get a chance to take an educational trip to Italy this summer. They left June 28 and came home on July 7 after visiting Rome, Sorrento, Venice, Florence, Pompeii and more.

“We saw the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’ in Vatican City,” art teacher Eric Ceresa said. “We toured the Colosseum and other landmarks in Rome.  We walked through Pompeii and climbed towers in San Gimignano.  

“We saw Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and paintings by Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci and Caravaggio in museums in Florence, and visited Juliet’s Balcony in Verona,” he added. “We toured Venice and had the opportunity to take a gondola ride.”

Ceresa said the trip took two years to plan and prepare for and is among other trips that students have had an opportunity to take over the years while at the high school.

Besides getting to know a new country, the students also were able to meet peers from other parts of the United States who also were touring Italy.

“In addition to the artistic and historical aspects of the tour, the students got to experience some if Italy’s culture, trying local cuisine in restaurants and practicing their Italian with native speakers,” Ceresa said. “There were some surprises for them, but they were very willing to try new things.”

Looking back, Ceresa said, the students particularly enjoyed visiting Florence and Pompeii for the vast historical significance and art.

“In the end, I think that the tour was a great success, and I’m glad that we were able to offer our students an opportunity to go beyond the classroom and to learn about great art, history and another culture by actually visiting another country,” Ceresa said. “They can learn a lot in the classes we teach, but it gives them a very different perspective to go there and see things for themselves.”