Description

Though Shakespeare was a thoroughly English playwright, his fascination with Italy--from ancient Rome to Renaissance Venice--knew no bounds. He set more than a quarter of his plays in places like Rome, Padova, Verona, and Venice. Obviously, this land of bright sun, sweeping campagna, mountains, forums, and gondolas caught his attention as much as it does travelers today, and helped him ask some of his most probing questions--and write some of his greatest plays--about love, self-control, envy, hatred, government, and passion. We invite rising juniors and seniors in high school to come with us and share his passion for Italy and our passion for the Bard, and see how these intersect while living on the beautiful Rome Campus at Due Santi and traveling to the sites where he set his plays.

Shakespeare in Italy is not simply a tour of Italy, but an academic program designed for serious students who are interested in learning about ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy - the history, art (painting, sculpture and architecture), literature, philosophy and theology - as it indirectly influenced the greatest poet of the English language. We’ll take you to the places that informed and inspired the plays: ancient Roman sites such as the Forum where Marc Anthony speaks so persuasively over Caesar’s corpse and the very place where Caesar actually died; the Colosseum, Renaissance sites that spurred the art and literature of the age, including St. Peter’s Basilica; Venetian sites featured in Shakespeare’s plays, like the Rialto Bridge, the Doge’s Palace, and the first Ghetto in Europe; and Baroque sites of marvel and wonder like the Borghese Museum.

Few writers can help you as much as Shakespeare to develop the skills you’ll need for the SAT and ACT. Student in past years report that their reading comprehension and, importantly, their writing have improved immensely in the short span of the program. This is because our dedicated staff devotes a great amount of time to small-group and one-on-one instruction in both reading and writing. You will read carefully, discuss constantly, and write often, under the tutelage of marvelous professors and instructors.

No noisy city setting here. The University's ten-acre Eugene Constantin Campus rests in the beautiful foothills just off the Via Appia southeast of Rome, where ancient Rome got its start and where Romans and popes take their summer rest. Take a walk in the kiwi grove, kick around a soccer ball, eat fresh Italian food in our mensa, take a dip in the pool, work out in the exercise room, or just sit in the pergola above the working vineyard. You'll find it come paradiso-like paradise-on the grounds of this beautiful former villa.