PHILADELPHIA – Fresh off an Ivy League co-championship and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years, the University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team has already begun looking ahead to the 2018-19 season. To that end, the Quakers will be traveling to Italy from May 14-22 and will play three games against Italian opposition while across the pond.
 
This will mark the program's second trip to Italy in five years; the team went to Venice, Florence and Rome in the summer of 2013, ahead of the 2013-14 season. This time around, the trip will take the Quakers to Rome, Milan, and Lake Como. While in Lake Como, the team also will take a day trip to Lugano, Switzerland.
 
Penn's games are scheduled against US Tiber Basket Roma on Thursday, May 17; Bernareggio 99 on Saturday, May 19; and Novara Borgomanero on Sunday, May 20.
 
"This trip will provide a tremendous opportunity for our student-athletes to travel somewhere that they may not otherwise go if it weren't for basketball," said Penn's John R. Rockwell Head Coach of Men's Basketball, Steve Donahue. "While the games we will play in Italy will be competitive and helpful to our team's on-court development, the cultural experiences and the team bonding are the real reasons why we are so excited for a trip like this. We are truly fortunate to have supporters who are willing to afford us the opportunity to take our program to Italy!"
 
After an overnight flight that lands in Rome on Monday, May 14, the Penn players and staff members are scheduled to do the following sight-seeing adventures:
*MONDAY, MAY 14 (Rome): Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon/Roman Temple, Piazza Navonna
*TUESDAY, MAY 15 (Rome): Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel
*WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 (Rome): Colosseum, Roman Forum, Campidoglio (City Square)
*FRIDAY, MAY 18 (Milan): Milan Cathedral, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Santa Maria Delle Grazie, The Last Supper mural painting
*SATURDAY, MAY 19 (Lake Como): Bus to Lugano, Switzerland for a walking tour
*MONDAY, MAY 21: Boat tour of Lake Como, Bellagio
 
Penn will make the trip with 16 players, as the seniors with expired eligibility—Dan Dwyer, Darnell Foreman, Sam Jones, Matt MacDonald, Caleb Wood—and incoming recruits are not eligible to be a part of it.