TIME TRAVEL 2016

TIME TRAVEL 2016

We, as ITA Schools, had the privilege to host this year’s ‘Time Travel’ event  on February 24 and 25.

This year’s event goes back to 1895 and is based upon a historical document, a diary that belonged to the Italian Ambassador’s wife, Maria Pansa, who lived in Turkey at the time. The diary has been preserved by Reggio Emilia Library to this day.

In her diary, Maria Pansa talks about important meetings she held with the Sultan and some political figures of the time as well as the many events she witnessed during her stay here.

Our ‘time travel’ started on February 24, with various cultural and applied lab activities in our school, where we hosted Barbara Scarante, the former Italian Ambassador’s wife, and Cecile Franchetti, the representative of the Italian Time Travel Movement. 

First, our students attended a presentation about Maria Pansa’s memories and had a chance to think about life in the past as well as compare and contrast the present and the past. Then, the former Ambassador’s wife, Scarante, talked about the duties of an ambassador in a foreign country. Finally, our students worked on a Turkish- Italian picture dictionary and gave it as a gift to Barbara Scarante, the former Italian Ambassador’s wife, who represented the Maria Pansa character of 1895.

On February 25, we visited Casa d’Italia, the ambassador’s home and office in 1895, where our students, teachers and guests changed into costumes to relive a special day in history; the day when Giuseppe Garibaldi visited the first Italian School that was founded in 1888 in Istanbul with his help. Garibaldi lived in the Pera neighborhood back then.

Time Travel is an exclusive experience where one gets to relive a past event. It is held in many cities in Europe and supported by highly respected cultural institutions such as the University of Ca’ Foscari in Venice. 

Our students will be given a certificate for attending this year’s Time Travel by the University of Ca’ Foscari.

Back