The Rhetoric Latin class took flight to Rome for the duration of the September break, under the guidance of Mr.Martin Wallace, Latin teacher, Mr.Stephen O’Hara and Mr.Tom Carroll. Over the course of the weekend the group visited the sites associated with ancient Rome. On Friday morning a visit was organised to the Scavi under St.Peter’s whereby we were able to see at first hand, the ancient Necropolis or City of the Dead which lay close to the Circus of Nero and popularly believed to be the site of the burial of St.Peter. Following on from the visit, we spent a day in the Colosseum and the ancient Forum as well as the Palatine Hill, home to the lavish villas of the senators and Emperors. The Pantheon was another place which captured the imagination, and the presentation given by some of the class to the group would not have been out of place under any experienced guide.
While the visit was primarily aimed at history of Rome, nevertheless we spent some time exploring part of the city, and a highlight was a Sunday evening Mass at the Gesu which was celebrated by Irish Jesuit, Fr.Michael Paul Gallagher SJ, in the rooms of St.Ignatius.
Coming back to Clongowes, we were much richer than before and despite the workload, we managed to sample some very fine Italian cuisine along the way.
