Two School Sites + One!
Angela and I looked at many sites of which two or three fit our basic stipulations: location, costs, size, purpose. None fit into our budget and we need to look closely if there is a way to make costs work.
Of these two and keeping costs into consideration, Angela and I feel that the Colonia Cabrini site is best but there are still serious needs we must consider including a need for student transportation. I think it is helpful if we put that option up against an alternative. Take a look and help us evaluate!
P.S. Angela and I went to another site suggested to us by Bruno. We are including some data here. Although it is cheaper, we felt it didn't fit well into our idea for a Bible school in Italy. Although it is in a beautiful mountain valley, it is VERY remote and had a lot of physical needs including short beds and an awkward layout for bathrooms. See our discussion below
A summary, a look at pros and cons, and a serious look at the budget. Is any of this possible in Italy???!
As you can see below, we took a lot of photos of Colonia Cabrini... and many of the restrooms. There were a few turkish toilets (a glorified hole in the ground), but we thought there were enough normal toilets to go around. Women students could occupy the second floor and men the first floor. Although at a higher altitude, heating is covered through April 18. After that and weather depending we can add heat for 80€/day. Mt. Baldo is on the other side of the valley with a 2-3 hour hike to the top with beautiful views. Spiazzi is a twenty minute walk and has a few hotels and restaurants as well as Madonna della Corona.
This space distinguishes itself for its nature and beauty, altitude, views of Lago di Garda and after a short walk, a cliff overlooking the Adige valley, being set apart, lots of hiking space, a field that could be used for sports, a more than adequate kitchen and meeting space for 30+ (can accommodate 80). It is an hour from Verona, and in the vicinity of Riva del Garda, Trento, Mantova, the Dolomites, Venice, and Milan.
The costs: Currently this is OVER budget. We are trying to keep student costs at school for €2500 for the school of 8-9 weeks. We are waiting for a possible adjustment, but the given price is €470/day (~€19/person/day for 25 paying students [7 staff]). It could accommodate more if we were able to and wanted to recruit more students which would bring the price per student down).
I also think that because this place is so remote it would require vans at least for the weekends to transport students to Verona or elsewhere. One thought would be to visit churches as a group each Sunday in Verona, Trent, Riva, and Venezia, with the afternoon for site-seeing? BUT, getting vans could be very pricey. Is there a way around these costs for transporting ~30 people?
How can we have a school in Italy with the higher costs?
Colonia Cabrini pics
We took more pics of this site than the others. The first are views from the structure and site, followed by rooms, and bathrooms, kitchen and meeting areas, and some maps to local destinations. The current bunk beds could be removed because we don't need top bunks. There are some turkish toilets, but there are many normal toilets as well and accommodations for disabilities. Bathrooms are communal, but we could put women on the second floor and men on the first floor. There is a separate bedroom near the kitchen.
Casa sul Lago (Torricella, Lago Trasimeno, PG)
This place is notable for its adaptable structure, good location in central Italy with train access to Perugia, Assissi, Florence, Rome and beyond. There are beautiful sites very close on the lake with lots of capabilities for bike riding, etc. The bedrooms all have private bathrooms and there is enough room for eating and meeting. The person with whom we talked is clearly money-motivated, however, and would not come below €600/day or ~€24/student/day. Here is their website.
Centro della Famiglia pics
The pics here represent the structure. This is situated in Mezzoldo a paese of less than 200 inhabitants. It is in the shadow of a large mountain and on a historic medieval road that went from Bergamo over the mountain pass to Sondrio, but it is very small and about ten minutes from a town with a grocery store. The structure is run by an association that struggles to keep it up. We noticed several broken toilets and a broken shower door. Only one washing machine serves the whole place (they are not used to people staying for longer periods needing to wash clothes). The dining room lay between the 18 bed room and the bathroom for that room, which would be very inconvenient.
