Frederick 2nd: a multicultural bridge from 13th to 21st century Erasmus Project

Project Title

Frederick 2nd: a multicultural bridge from 13th to 21st century

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

The main objective of our project is the understanding and the appreciation of overall European history and value.
The leading theme of our project is Frederick II Hohenstaufen (1194-1250) who was named the “first European”.
Our purpose is to make our students enhance our cultural European heritage and actively contribute to the preservation of our cultural origin. It is also important to improve the awareness that European culture is a means of cohesion and identity in a period of great social and political transformations (e.g. nationalistic and popular riots, Brexit ).
Through this Erasmus project we aim to promote the students’ mobility and the awareness of their own social role inside a pacifist, tolerant, versatile, multicultural society. One German and two Italian highschools located in the most representative places of Frederick’s life participate in this project.
The project is aimed at students of 15 and 16 years old, corresponding to 10th and 11th German classes and 2nd and 3rd Italian classes; the project will be included in their CV and developed involving several subjects whose teachers have already planned regular lessons. On the whole, this project will be attended by 200 students , of which ca. 80 participated in international meetings as “ambassadors of the project”.
On the E-Twinning platform we documented the work both in the individual schools and during the mobilities. In addition, the pupils made contact with their peers from another European country and gathered their knowledge about Germany, Italy and Europe. On the same platform there was a competition for the Project Logo. Finally, the students presented aspects of their culture (city, traditions).
Each school has developed and implemented sub-projects which highlights the multiple personality and the tolerant behaviour of Frederick concerning language, politics, laws, art, architecture, literature, daily life.
The main work of Putignano’s school was the study on Frederick´s buildings (castles, churches, cities) and mathematical and magic relations in Medieval culture, also concerning the interaction among different cultures (Latin, Greek and Arabic).
German students dealt mainly with historical sources. A particular attention has been given to Frederick’s political decisions and laws and their consequences until today. There was also a comparison between Frederick’s architectural monuments in Germany and in south Italy.
The main work of the Italian school in Palermo focused on one important aspect of Frederick’s politics that is the promotion of a peaceful cohabitation among ethnic groups, different cultures and religions in the city and the evaluation of their cultural peculiarities (Roman, Greek, Arabic, Jewish). Reference documents are found in buildings and writings, but also in language and daily culture. Due to the covid pandemic, this mobility was not carried out.

During the transnational meetings the material used in the lessons was reworked by mixed students‘ groups and the results were assembled. The work is documented on the eTwinning site.
In the implementation of the learning activities, our concern was always to use different methodological approaches. Pupils have produced posters, PowerPoint presentations, graphic and photographic documentation and reports for the public information sessions and exhibitions. They have recorded daily diaries and reports for the school homepage and for the local/regional press. Workshops with experts, questionnaires, explorations at extracurricular places of learning were also included.
Finally, the students created various products including a digital travel guide by young people for young people in different languages about the cities visited during the mobilities and a digital book about the most important places of Friedrich’s life. The planned play about Frederick’s European idea was prepared in the individual schools, but could not be realised.
These materials as well as some teaching concepts are also usable by colleagues from other schools or institutions and transferable to other projects. They are freely available on the PEP platform and in twinspace.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 74132 Eur

Project Coordinator

Adolf-Schmitthenner-Gymnasium Neckarbischofsheim & Country: DE

Project Partners

• LICEO CLASSICO STATALE UMBERTO I
• LICEO Majorana-Laterza