The team and coaches posed in St. Mark's Square in Venice.
Over Spring Break in early April, the Community School of Naples Varsity baseball team traveled to Italy to play three games against local Italian clubs and learn about Italian culture, both ancient and current. This was all thanks to the collaborative effort of the CSN baseball coaches and the Italian American Baseball Foundation. CSN Assistant Baseball Coach Mark Cardillo played professional baseball in Italy for several years, and it was his enthusiasm to connect the youth of these two countries through the international language of sport that served as a catalyst for this trip.
Left: The team and coaches at the American Military Cemetery in Anzio, Italy.
Middle: L to R: Assistant Coach Mark Cardillo and Michael Carpentier, CSN’s Director of the Juliet Collier Sproul Center for Community and Global Impact.
Right: The CSN baseball team and Head Coach Chad Ott shook hands with players and coaches of the Crocetta Baseball Club after their game in Parma.
The team arrived in Rome on Saturday afternoon and traveled to their hotel just south of the city in Castel Gandolfo. The next morning, the team headed further south to Nettuno to learn about the Allied invasion of Italy during WWII that occurred there and in neighboring Anzio. They visited the American Military Cemetery in Nettuno, and then played a baseball game against the local team. That night, the CSN team went into Rome and toured some of the famous sights, including the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. The following morning, they were bused to Florence. Here they saw Michelangelo’s famous statue of David and toured the other major sights of that city. The next day, the boys visited parmesan cheese and prosciutto factories in Parma, which were both eye-opening and quite smelly! After this, the team played their second game against the Crocetta Baseball Club in Parma and enjoyed dinner with the local players after the game. The next day, now in Venice, they had the opportunity to view a glass-blowing demonstration in the famous Murano glass art studio, visit St. Mark’s Square, and enjoy a gondola ride through the canals. After spending the night in neighboring Padua, the team then drove to their final destination, Milan. Here the team played their third game at John F. Kennedy Stadium against local baseball club Milano 1946 before flying home the next day.
Throughout the trip, the CSN boys formed relationships with the local players and got to experience sports as a way to bridge the divide between cultures. As CSN’s mission is based on the education of responsible global citizens, trips abroad to become familiar with different cultures and form new relationships are pivotal to the values of the school and future generations. This trip would not have been possible without the generosity of the Italian American Baseball Foundation and members of the CSN community. They gave students the opportunity to visit many places and sample the kind of experiences they can look forward to around the world in the future.
Community School of Naples, the largest PreK-12 independent school in Collier County, was established in 1982. CSN offers a rigorous college preparatory program, and 100 percent of its seniors attend select four-year colleges and universities. The school is located on a 77-acre campus in North Naples.
Community School of Naples, the largest PreK-12 independent school in Collier County, was established in 1982. CSN offers a rigorous college preparatory program, and 100 percent of its seniors attend select four-year colleges and universities. The school is located on a
77-acre campus in North Naples.
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