SPB25 PSLL Cultural trip to Sitges

First, the teacher in charge explained the history of the city of Sitges and its historic connections with the American continent, especially Cuba. Many people from Sitges went there to make a fortune, and those who returned with large fortunes, the so-called "Indianos", built their homes in a colonial or eclectic style, incorporating palm trees into their gardens and establishing their patronage of charitable or cultural institutions, subsidizing the construction of schools, churches and town halls... truly being the precursors of progress and modernity. After this information, the students were given a map of the city and a list of the most important houses and places of interest. They all walked through the town’s history, strolling along the streets, and were able to admire the  palaces and ancient castles as well as historic buildings from the Modernist, neoclassical and Noucentist movements. Then, a challenge was organised. 

Divided in small groups of different nationalities, they  were asked to spot in the city the houses numbered on the map and make a selfie in front of as many of these buildings as possible. The objective was for them to learn to distinguish “casas de indianos”, modernist buildings and neoclassical ones. The group which sent  the most pictures to the responsible Spanish teacher were given an award during the farewell party at the end of the hosting week. Later they had some free time to rediscover the city treasures again by themselves

The students had a great moment in this beautiful, picturesque and historic city. They were impressed by the beauty and variety of the architectural styles offered by the city. They improved their cultural knowledge in history and  architecture. They also had to put into practice their orienteering skills when trying to find the different buildings. Moreover, they practised a lot English and Spanish to follow the instructions. Of course the small competition added a challenge and was an incentive to their motivation and participation. The students wrote reports and an article was published on the blog.