On Friday March 3rd Honors Italian IV students Elle Berti, Annemarie Mullen, Katherine Apicella, Emily Davis, Sarah Morris, Alexandra Retodo, Meaghan Rogers, Mary Quilici, and Emma Piziali visited the Italian Consul General, Lorenzo Ortona in San Francisco.

Consul Ortona together with the Educational Attaché’ to the consulate, Paola Ebranate and vice- consuls Luigi Biondi welcomed the group and talked to them about their studies of Italian, aspiring careers and studying abroad. After a brief reception, the students presented the Consul General with a gift of wine glasses with the Saint Francis insignia and a selection of wine graciously donated from the Piziali family.

At the end of the visit, Consul Ortona complimented the students on their proficiency in Italian and invited them to return on May 30th for the annual celebration of the Festa della Repubblica (Unification Day) to help him greet guests as they arrive to the event.

The field trip ended with a visit to the St. Francis Shrine and the Porziuncola and finally an Italian lunch at the U. S Restaurant (ristorante Unione Sportiva) with Fr. Alberto, parish priest of the Italian Church St. Peter and Paul.