Venezia

Our first overnight trip of the second semester was to Venice, perhaps one of the most unique cities in the world.

From Lanciano, Venice is a good seven hour drive. We made a few stops along the way to eat, stretch one’s legs, and in some cases, enjoy a children’s play-centre.

We arrived mid-afternoon, quickly dropped off our luggage, then headed into the heart of Venice. The small amount of rain was no match for CCI.

That afternoon we toured the Doge’s Palace and crossed the Bridge of Sighs into the menacing Venetian prison cells.

We ate, and stayed, at the Hotel Principe both nights. For many years CCI has been fortunate enough to stay at this hotel, which is located right on the Grand Canal.

The nights were open for students to explore the mysterious city of Venice.

We held tours-by-choice the following morning. My group headed to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection to view major works by Pollock, Dali, Picasso, Warhol, and many others.

Along the way one student spotted another work, important in its own right: this stick figure by street artist André (a.k.a. Monsieur André).

A second group was led to a mask factory to learn the history, and the process, of making Venetian masks.

A third group was taken on a Mystery Tour of Venice that explored local urban legends.

Our last day allowed for a bit of a sleep-in and a casual morning of wandering the city. On our way home to Lanciano we stopped in the microstate Republic of San Marino. We were just in time to catch a beautiful sunset before exploring this tiny independent country.