Field Trip #10: Become an Artist in Italy

This trip is a little pricey to pull off but definitely worth every penny. To really get students to understand the art of Italy they can head to the DC Glassworks studio to to try their hands at blowing glass in the Murano style. Ok maybe on a single field trip "blowing glass" might be a stretch but Dave D'Orio does a great job of getting kids involved in making paper weights with Murano style cane which also opens students' eyes up to the glass blowing world which is steeped in Italian history and culture. We took a group of students here and had a great time making paper weights. We had 9 students and went through the whole process for each student in about 2 hours. The trip expenses involved transportation to the glass studio which is in Hyattsville and also paying for each paper weight which came to about 30 dollars a student. Give Dave D'Orio a call to talk about the possibilities and I know that he will be able to accommodate a small group of students who are interested in learning more about Italian glassblowing.

I always like to combine activities so that students have a more rounded experience and so after DC Glassworks I contacted Tricia Maltagliati with the Tuscany Club of Washington to see if we could take advantage of Casa Italiana on 3rd Street NW. I had gone by this intriguing building many times and kept thinking that I have to find out what is happening there. Turns out a lot!

Tricia was great and she hosted a pizza making class at the Casa Italiana. This is one of many cultural activities that take place here. You can also take Italian classes and there is also a carnival in February and Italian Days in mid June that showcase the Casa in general.

Another cool thing here is that the Casa Italiana is located right next to Holy Rosary Church which is the only Roman Catholic Church in DC that has mass in Italian to this day. Combine a tour of the church, a pizza making class and a stint at a glass shop and you have just spent the day in Italy!

Contact Info:
Dave D'Orio
DC Glassworks
5346 46th Avenue
Hyattsville, MD 20781-2307
(301) 927-8271
www.dcglassworks.com

Tricia Maltagliati
Lucchesi Nel Mondo
Tuscany Club of Washingon
triciamalt@yahoo.com
www.lucchesitoscani.org

Casa Italiana
595 3rd Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 638-0165
www.casaitalianaschool.org