2015 Tours
Vergilian Society Summer Tours 2015
Monument lists are subject to change based on closings for restoration and other factors outside our control. Every attempt is made to see that we visit as many of the sites listed as possible.
Romans, Etruscans and ancient Greeks: Exploring Antiquities from Tuscany to Campania
June 28 – July 10, 2015
Director: Dr. John Wonder
This tour of Rome, Tuscany and the beautiful Bay of Naples provides a fascinating view of the archaeology, culture and ancient history of the Greeks, Romans and Etruscans.
Price: $2,595
Cucina Romana, Antiqua Modernaque: a Gastronomer’s Tour of Southern Italy
***TOUR CLOSED***
June 30 – July 11, 2015
Directors: Lorina Quartarone; Steven Tuck
During this 12 day tour of southern Italy, our group will study, view, recreate (and taste!) authentic Italian cuisine through both ancient and modern lenses. Ancient sources (both Greek and Roman) will provide firsthand accounts of food preparation and consumption by the Romans of the ancient world, from modest households to the exotic foods of the wealthy. More modern works will supplement our understanding of the realities and processes of ancient food production and preparation. We will tour ancient sites – including the best-preserved Roman farms and villas that survive – to discover what they reveal about food from everyday staples to imported and luxury cuisine.
Price: $2,745
Caesar and Vergil in Italy: A Study Tour for Teachers
July 12 – July 23, 2015
Directors: Amy Leonard, MA, Tucker High School; Steven Tuck, PhD, Miami University
This study tour for new and experienced high school Latin teachers will illuminate the lives and works of Caesar and Vergil with a combination of stimulating pedagogy workshops and inspiring site visits. Morning sessions will include proven strategies and practices equipping teachers to develop successful Advanced Placement classrooms. The ideas and skills presented will enrich both beginning and advanced courses. Afternoon site and museum visits will explore the history, geography, politics, and culture of Caesar’s commentarii and Vergil’s Aeneid. Through informative and engaging lectures and readings from ancient writers, the site visits will offer creative insights into the common themes (e.g. leadership, religion, warfare, and Roman values) of our authors. All teachers will benefit from this content-rich but laid-back experience.
Price: $2,595
Tunisia: A Journey in a Magical Land
July 19 – July 29, 2015
Directors: Phillip V Stanley, Professor Emeritus; George Perko, MBA
Our journey in search of Aeneas and Dido begins with a full tour of ancient Carthage. Excavations on the acropolis of the ancient city have uncovered remains from the Carthaginian period below the Roman forum and Temple of Aesculapius. In the lower city are the remains of the aqueduct that supplied the city with water in the Roman period along with the cisterns. The remains of the Roman bath structure are near the coast and the ancient harbor is still visible. The Bardo Museum has one of the best and most extensive collection of Roman mosaics, including the one depicting Aeneas writing about the fall of Troy. A visit to Tunis would not be complete without a walk through the suq in the Medina, the old walled city.
Price: $1,650; Single Supplement: $195
Naples Bay as Melting Pot, Always at a Boil: Social Realities in Coastal Campania
***TOUR CLOSED***
July 23 – August 3, 2015
Directors: Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow, Brandeis University; Steven E. Ostrow, M.I.T.
We shall focus on the social history of ancient Greeks, Romans, and others along Naples Bay. We explore the everyday, momentary facts of ancient life in the street, bathing in public and private, the morning salutatio in the houses of the rich, selling in the market, visiting the latrine, worship and sacrifice. The palatially housed and the homeless, the over-stuffed and the under-nourished, the free-born, the freedman, and the slave–all this host we shall visit amidst the natural beauty and man-made landscape that lie in the shadow of Vesuvius.
Price: $2,595