Languages

‘Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel – The Exhibition’ – an excursion for the Year 12 Italian students
Towards the end of Term 1, on Friday 1 April, the Year 12 Italian students, accompanied by their Italian teacher Miss Giuseppina Graziano and the Italian language assistant Miss Martina Battista, participated in an excursion to the Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel – The Exhibition at the Emporium in the city centre of Melbourne. Eleven students took part to the event, including eight Year 11 students accelerating in Italian and completing Unit 3, and 4 Year 12 students completing Unit 3 Italian in their final year of schooling. The visit to the exhibition allowed these students to engage in a meaningful and more concrete way with the content they are currently studying as part of their Unit 3 Italian course: ‘The Renaissance in Italy’.

Prior to the excursion the students had learnt about the socio-historical and cultural background of Renaissance, the importance of Michelangelo as an artist of that time and had completed learning activities on the Sistine Chapel (La Cappella Sistina). The students valued the excursion not as a mere fun day together as a class, but as a highly educational opportunity that offered them the chance to have a closer look at the artworks, although virtually displayed, of a worldwide famous Italian artist they were studying.

Thanks to the very detailed commentary in the audio guides available for each panel exhibited and students’ prior knowledge of the Renaissance art, the students were able to observe, identify and analyse Michelangelo’s artistic techniques and use of symbols, the intentions laying behind his artistic choices and the complex meanings behind each story represented in each fresco. The students appreciated that the excursion was a meaningful learning opportunity and engaged with the artworks on display by observing and reflecting on each of Michelangelo’s paintings exhibited, by taking notes and by sharing comments with their teacher, the language assistant and among themselves during and after the visit.

Following the excursion, the class discussed what was learnt, the highlight of the day and the benefits of the overall experience. The students’ feedback was overwhelmingly positive as per some of their comments below:

‘I thought that the exhibition was great, I enjoyed seeing the artwork in a much larger and more detailed way than you could on a screen. I felt that it allowed us to learn more about the artwork from that time period. I particularly enjoyed seeing paintings such as The Creation of Adam, The Creation of Eve, and The Last Judgement - it really helped me to gain a more thorough understanding of the artwork during the Renaissance’ (Nicholas C – Year 12).

The exhibit was really fun! It offered an extremely detailed layout which gave you a clear understanding of where the artworks were placed on the roof and the importance of each placement. The audio guide offered invaluable insight into Michelangelo's technique and explained connections between the Bible, Michelangelo, and the journey of the artwork (Olivia B – Year 11).

‘The Michelangelo Sistine Chapel exhibition was amazing. The detail in each painting was incredible! The staff were so kind!!’ (Natasha Y – Year 12).

The visit to the Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel’s exhibition has formed an integral part of the Unit 3 Italian study for 2022 and has created a memorable learning experience for the Year 12 Italian students. On behalf of the students as well, I wish to thank the school Principal, Mr Caldow, the Head of Languages, Ms Fulvia Galigani, and the Organizational team for approving this excursion and the learning opportunity that such approval has offered to the Year 12 Italian students this year.

Miss Giuseppina Graziano and the Year 12 Italian students

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