Basketball will be secondary during Pitt's trip to Italy in August
Basketball will be a part of the Pitt team’s upcoming trip to Italy, but players and coaches will see so much more outside of the Italian gymnasiums.
School officials announced the team will leave Aug. 5 for a 10-day, eight-night trip with stops in Rome, Florence, Pisa, Bologna, Vicenza, and Venice. Along the way, they will play three games against international competition.
“The experience gained by taking a foreign trip as a team will be invaluable for our program,” coach Jeff Capel said in a statement. “The opportunity to explore the rich culture of some of the iconic cities of Italy as well as compete against some top international competition will be a stepping stone to our 2019-20 season. I am excited to take this group overseas for what is set up to be an educational experience on and off the court.”
First stop will be Rome where the team will have guided tours of the Roman Colosseum, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. The first game will be Aug. 8 in Rome before the team departs for Florence.
The next day, the travel party will explore Duomo, Gates of Paradise, Ponte Vecchio, Mercato Centrale food market and San Lorenzo leather market before visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa and playing its second game Aug. 10.
Pitt will head to Venice Aug. 11, with a stop in Bologna for a walking culinary tour. The final game will be Aug. 12 in Vicenza before returning to Venice.
The team returns to Pittsburgh on Aug. 14.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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