In time, our course goes from the days of the ancient Greeks, through Roman times, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the re-emergence of commerce and banking, the industrial revolution, and into the unification of Europe climaxed by the creation of the Euro. In space, we head for Greek sites in southern Italy, where, besides seeing some amazing archeological sites, we visit a family farm and meet with local people concerned with appropriate economic development. We take time to live into the local culture and work on conversational Italian. Then we head to the Naples area, where our base will be Pompeii, the city preserved by volcanic ash from the eruption of Vesuvius in 79. We'll go up Vesuvius, spend a day in Pompeii, work a day on the Maryland project in Stabia, and see the museum in Naples with the best items from Pompeii. On a free Sunday, you can choose between Herculaneum and Oplontis or Sorrento and Capri, or explore the north shore of the Bay of Naples.
In Rome, besides the forum, pantheon, and Vatican, we will visit the ancient port city of Ostia Antica. Finally, we head to the birthplace of the modern world, Florence, where business acumen combined with extraordinary artistic and intellectual achievement.
To learn more about where we will go, what we will see, where we will stay, what we will read and do, click the red topics in the margins. Click either of the above pictures of the Three Graces to see how they illustrate the theme of our course.
