Italy 21 - 26 June 2024
Most of the people from the Méditerranée Experience travelled from Nice to Rome and joined the ‘Roma Experience’ for four full days learning, exploring, wondering, navigating, discovering, walking, tasting, experiencing and wandering.
Rome is a busy, crazy, dirty, ancient city and our refuge was gelato and our cool, clean accommodation.
Another small group allowed quick bonding and the formation of ‘community’. It was a safe place. We made new friends. We walked and walked and explored Rome as we explored Montessori’s life in Rome.
Saturday
As we headed off to San Lorenzo and the 1st Casa Bambini, we learnt how to navigate the many water fountains in Rome with a ‘Getting a Drink in Rome’ presentation.
San Lorenzo with graffiti and interesting history kept us busy till lunch time.
A quick visit to the Leonardo di Vinci High School where Montessori went to high school led to dinner at one of our local, authentic and favourite Rome restaurants. This trattoria is very convenient as it is situated just up the road from our accommodation. There is no chance of getting lost coming home.
Sunday
Surprise morning …. a surprise for us all. It’s such a surprise I can’t mention it here.
Being Sunday morning, the walk through the streets presented a very quiet Rome.
This afternoon we spent time in an ancient building which houses an art museum of work which inspired Maria Montessori.
Then… did someone mention ‘gelato’?
The night was free of activities, and everyone headed off for further exploration.
Monday
After breakfast, this morning’s historic presentation was from one of our two guest speaker. Today’s speaker had worked many years in a private clinic providing Montessori care to mothers and newborns. It was such a privilege to hear her stories and imagine what her work would have been like.
After another great lunch in Rome, we once again walked the streets….
We were all SO glad that we weren’t on the tour lining up for ages to visit the Vatican. In case you were wondering, you will never have to line up for such a visit on a Montessori Tours and Travel tour – unless of course you want to.
We learnt a lot inside the very old library in the hospital where Montessori studied. As we listened to a presentation about the oldest hospital in Italy, we marvelled at the care so long ago for society’s most fragile.
An afternoon walk along the Tiber River took us to the Opera Nazionale Montessori where we enjoyed a quick presentation about the history of the Opera and the work it does today. Our ‘work’ day ended with a short presentation about the wonders of geometry from Benedetto, a mathematician and the President of Opera Nazionale Montessori.
Did someone say ‘gelato’?
After gelato for everyone, it was a free night for everyone. Karin and I found ourselves in an unusual place….. Can you guess where? (It was a sports bar where we had beer and pizza whilst watching the football – Italy was playing! It was very noisy and exciting.)
Tuesday
Our morning work today was listening to the second historic presentation. Our speaker told us about her time working in Rome with newborns and very young children in the 70s and 80s.
For the last time this tour we walked the streets that Montessori walked visiting sites important to the history of 0-3 work in Roma.
What fabulous few days we shared in Rome.
Only on a small group walking tour of Roma do you get to experience aspects of Dr Montessori’s life over 100 years ago. On a Montessori Tours and Travel Tour you see first-hand the sites in which Dr Montessori and her colleagues worked, wrote about and which formed an important part of their professional lives.
Rome is a busy, crazy, dirty, ancient city and our refuge was gelato and our cool, clean accommodation.
Another small group allowed quick bonding and the formation of ‘community’. It was a safe place. We made new friends. We walked and walked and explored Rome as we explored Montessori’s life in Rome.
Saturday
As we headed off to San Lorenzo and the 1st Casa Bambini, we learnt how to navigate the many water fountains in Rome with a ‘Getting a Drink in Rome’ presentation.
San Lorenzo with graffiti and interesting history kept us busy till lunch time.
A quick visit to the Leonardo di Vinci High School where Montessori went to high school led to dinner at one of our local, authentic and favourite Rome restaurants. This trattoria is very convenient as it is situated just up the road from our accommodation. There is no chance of getting lost coming home.
Sunday
Surprise morning …. a surprise for us all. It’s such a surprise I can’t mention it here.
Being Sunday morning, the walk through the streets presented a very quiet Rome.
This afternoon we spent time in an ancient building which houses an art museum of work which inspired Maria Montessori.
Then… did someone mention ‘gelato’?
The night was free of activities, and everyone headed off for further exploration.
Monday
After breakfast, this morning’s historic presentation was from one of our two guest speaker. Today’s speaker had worked many years in a private clinic providing Montessori care to mothers and newborns. It was such a privilege to hear her stories and imagine what her work would have been like.
After another great lunch in Rome, we once again walked the streets….
We were all SO glad that we weren’t on the tour lining up for ages to visit the Vatican. In case you were wondering, you will never have to line up for such a visit on a Montessori Tours and Travel tour – unless of course you want to.
We learnt a lot inside the very old library in the hospital where Montessori studied. As we listened to a presentation about the oldest hospital in Italy, we marvelled at the care so long ago for society’s most fragile.
An afternoon walk along the Tiber River took us to the Opera Nazionale Montessori where we enjoyed a quick presentation about the history of the Opera and the work it does today. Our ‘work’ day ended with a short presentation about the wonders of geometry from Benedetto, a mathematician and the President of Opera Nazionale Montessori.
Did someone say ‘gelato’?
After gelato for everyone, it was a free night for everyone. Karin and I found ourselves in an unusual place….. Can you guess where? (It was a sports bar where we had beer and pizza whilst watching the football – Italy was playing! It was very noisy and exciting.)
Tuesday
Our morning work today was listening to the second historic presentation. Our speaker told us about her time working in Rome with newborns and very young children in the 70s and 80s.
For the last time this tour we walked the streets that Montessori walked visiting sites important to the history of 0-3 work in Roma.
What fabulous few days we shared in Rome.
Only on a small group walking tour of Roma do you get to experience aspects of Dr Montessori’s life over 100 years ago. On a Montessori Tours and Travel Tour you see first-hand the sites in which Dr Montessori and her colleagues worked, wrote about and which formed an important part of their professional lives.
