Latin teacher Jason Lichte and art instructor Wendy Vertacnik have taken students to Italy since 2000, but it’s not every year that they get to be in Rome shortly after a new pope has been selected.

“The pope’s selection changed a lot of things about the trip,” Lichte said. “When we arrived in Rome, the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel had been closed for three weeks, and we went the first day it reopened, so it was really crowded.”

For the travelers, having the pope selected right before they arrived added to the overall experience.

“Being in Rome after the pope was elected was cool since the whole city was kind of bustling and on its toes,” junior Alex Ewy said. “We were also in the Vatican the day before the pope’s first public speech, so it was super crowded with people from all over the world.”

However, sophomore Sadie Keller was glad the pope was chosen before they got there, as opposed to while they were in Italy.

“We would not have been able to do a lot of things if the pope was still being chosen, and the city would have been much more packed,” Keller said.

Pope Francis was selected on March 13, and the students left for Italy on March 14 and returned on March 23.

As students approached the trip, they had to prepare for international travel.

“This trip was the first time I had left the United States or been away from my parents for so long,” Ewy said. “I was really excited to leave the country, and I didn’t get nervous until I reached Italy and was in the midst of a bustling city where I didn’t speak the language, but I became more comfortable as the trip went on.”

While for some students this was their first experience traveling abroad, Keller has been to other countries before including Ireland, Morocco, Mexico, Canada and the Dominican Republic.

“I knew I would be safe travelling in a large group and I was ready to have an adventure,” Keller said. “I decided to go to Italy because I was interested in Roman history, and I’m partially Italian.”

Lichte has been taking students to Italy for 10 years. This year, 18 students partook in the adventure.

Lichte was inspired to start hosting these trips from his experience traveling to Italy when he attended Baylor University.

“The trip then was arranged around the idea that students would work ahead of time to learn all the information they needed to really enjoy the experience,” Lichte said. “We have modeled our experience after that one.”

Starting 12 weeks before the trip, students attended six bi-weekly evening sessions where they studied the topography and history of ancient Rome and the origins of the Roman Catholic Church. At the end of the sessions, students had to take an exam over 17 Roman emperors and their contributions to Rome, and another, labeling a blank map of Ancient Rome. Also, students had to write two research papers, one on an ancient Italian site and another on a work of art.

“After successfully writing their research papers, students [created] brochures for each and [became] our tour guide while on location for that specific site,” Lichte said.

The trip ecompasses locations in northern and southern Italy, as well as Rome. In southern Italy, students travelled to the island of Capri and the famous ancient city of Pompeii.

“A couple of students began weeping when we arrived in Pompeii because they were so overwhelmed by emotion,” Lichte said.

In Rome, the group visited sites such as the Pantheon, the Forum, the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain.

“I got proposed to at the Trevi Fountain in Rome by [freshman Stefan Petrovic], and all the locals thought it was real,” Keller said.

Visiting northern Italy, the group focused on the Italian Renaissance and the Middle Ages. The students stayed in Florence, where they got to see many of Michelangelo’s works, including his famous sculpture of David. They also got to see Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Caravaggio’s Medusa.

Visiting so many locations with a strong focus on learning gave students the opportunity to take in the culture and history of Italy, as well as gain valuable experience and insight.

“I learned a lot about Italy’s history and about the political, economic, and cultural climate,” Keller said. “Also, I made some great friends, learned the difference between Roman and Tuscan pizza, [and] realized hot water showers were not a necessity.”