Harvard Classical Studies trip to Sicily turns student into ‘true classicist’
I’d never thought that a spring break jaunt could change a person. But sometime during the Classical Studies 112 class trip to Sicily, I became a true classicist. Maybe it was the hills and fields of Mount Etna, the rural landscapes Pindar wrote about in his epinician odes. Maybe it was our visit to Palermo, Marsala, Siracusa, Piazza Amerina, and the Egadi Islands. Whether all or one, the effect was transformative. A required course for classics concentrators at Harvard, “Regional Study of Sicily” is unlike any other class I have taken. Just as important as the all-expenses-paid trip was the chance to get to know my classmates and professors on a personal level, while getting physically and intellectually closer to the sites and monuments we have studied for years. Our first stop was Palermo, Sicily’s largest city, and the Norman Palace with its famous Palatine Chapel. While the overwhelming mosaics commanded our attention,...