Italy
participants
Learning about the city of Como's heritage and culture; Social integration and learning; Experience Learning.
The day began with a meeting at Milano Centrale station at 9:00 a.m., where roll call was taken to verify the presence of all participants. While waiting for the train, a sack breakfast was offered
Departure and Arrival: At 9:43 a.m., the group left Milan, and at 10:30 a.m. we arrived at Como S. Giovanni station. Before starting the activities, a short break was provided for the use of restrooms and coffee.
Start of Activities: Around 11:00 a.m. we started the activities with a brief introduction to the day and a presentation of the various stages planned. To encourage socialization, ice-breaking activities were organized. Participants arranged themselves in a circle and, one at a time, shared their name, origin and a fun item about themselves. A fun example provided was whether one is for or against putting pineapple on pizza.
Next, teams were formed. Each team received previously created flags (colored cardboard, wooden sticks, markers, scotch tape), on which they had to write their team name.
Rules of the game
The game consisted of answering questions and participating in various activities along the way, with each stage corresponding to a test or quiz. Each team earned points for each correct answer or well-executed activity. At the end of the day, the team with the highest score won a prize, consisting of maps of the city of Como and a bottle of sparkling wine.
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Stage 1: Volta Temple Gardens The first stage was dedicated to the figure of Alessandro Volta, one of Como's most influential figures. Participants learned about his life. The quiz question at this stage was “Who is the inventor of the battery?” with the answer options: a) Galileo Galilei b) Leonardo da Vinci c) Alessandro Volta
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Stage 2: Life Electric The second stage involved the sculpture “Life Electric” by Daniel Libeskind, dedicated to Alessandro Volta. Participants had to answer the creative question, “Imagine you are the architect that has been commissioned the creation of a sculpture, representing Volta's groundbreaking work. What would you create?” Participants had to draw a design for a sculpture in order to convince others that their creation was better than the actual sculpture.
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Stage 3: Piazza Cavour At Piazza Cavour, the group was given information about the fountain that was originally located in this square. The quiz question was “Where is now the fountain?” with the options:
(a) New York
b) Madrid c) Tokyo
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Stage 4: Cathedral Square. The next question was, “Which is the style of the Cathedral?” with the options: a) Classic b) Gothic c) Romanesque
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Stage 5: St. Fedele Square During this stage, participants explored the square and learned about its use in the 19th century. The related question was, “What was the use of this square back in the 19th century?” with the options: a) Horse racing b) Skate park c) Market square
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Stage 6: People's Square and Casa del Fascio The tour continued with a brief overview of the Casa del Fascio and People's Square.
Lunch: After this part of the tour, there was a two-hour lunch break, during which participants had free time to explore the city or simply relax.
Resumption of activities: In the afternoon, the program included a visit to Brunate via bus, but due to logistical limitations (the replacement bus for the funicular was reserved for residents and had few seats), a visit to Cernobbio, reached via boat*, was chosen as an alternative. This part of the day was much appreciated, with two fun games involving all participants:
1.
Guess the song - Italian edition
2.
How pasta is cooked in Italy
Afterwards, a tour of Cernobbio was organized, with a visit to the Giardino della Valle, a free green area that allowed participants to enjoy some relaxation surrounded by nature.
Conclusion of the Day: The day ended with the announcement of the winning team, which received maps of the city of Como and a bottle of sparkling wine as a prize. At 6:20 p.m., the group left Cernobbio in the direction of Como, then returned to Como S. Giovanni station, where the train to Milano Centrale left at 7:30 p.m. Return to Milan was scheduled for 8:20 pm.
*The bus/funicular fare to Brunate was very similar to the boat ticket, so we did not go at a loss
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
