Four thousand, six hundred and seventy eight miles.

That’s how far Italy is from Ohio, and in the summer of 2017 a handful of students will be boarding a plane ready to explore everything Italy has to offer.

Being approved by the Board of Education is only the first step, next comes planning everything from flight details to restaurants. The flight, hotel, and really everything else except lunch are under the $4,079 cost.

With the help of EF Educational Tours, which is the largest student travel agency, the hotels, restaurants, and cities can all be planned for the trip, which is expected to be around June 8.

Italian teacher Melissa Fini-Sanson is the organizer of the trip. She said of EF Educational Tours, “They have cookie-cutter trips and I like to take one of those and personalize it.”

The 12-day itinerary for the trip is packed with places to go, sights to see, and food to eat. With early mornings and late nights, the students will be able to get an idea of what Italy is like. Fini-Sanson said, “There will be a lot of opportunity to really get a good cultural taste of Italy.”

Senior Andrea Melaragno, who is president of Italian club and is going on the trip, said, “Immersing into a new culture is going to open up students’ minds and they are going to come back having seen something other than what they already knew.”

The students will be visiting museums, churches, and all the major sights in Italy. In between the sights there will be free time for students to shop and explore the cities. They will stop in Rome, Venice, Florence, Sorrento, Capri, Taormina, Syracuse, and Assisi.

Melaragno said, “I’m really excited to see Sorrento which is off the Amalfi Coast and has really beautiful beaches.”

Any Mayfield student with good academics is allowed on the trip, but there are only a total of 36 spots available. During this coming semester, there will be a meet-and-greet for the students who are going on the trip and a couple of fundraisers to raise additional money.

At the fundraisers there is a goal of $1500 so the students’ trip to Pisa can be free as well other things that might come up for cost purposes.