Education that lasts a lifetime. Why heritage should be discovered “from the inside” — the case of the Decius Ducats programme 29.05.2026
Cultural education is not an add-on to everyday schooling. It is one of its most important tools: it teaches young people how to understand the world, builds sensitivity, develops critical thinking, and strengthens their bond with the place they live in. In an age of accelerating pace, sensory overload, and bursting information bubbles, it is precisely contact with heritage—real, tangible, and experienced together—that gives young people a stable point of reference. We invite you to discover the Decius Ducats programme, developed by the Villa Decius Institute of Culture: an innovative model of learning through experience, culminating in an overnight stay in a Renaissance residence.
Contemporary studies emphasise that cultural education should combine an analytical perspective with practical experience and provide support for those who deliver it—so that it becomes a genuine tool for public policy and for educators’ everyday work. International standards point in the same direction: UNESCO notes that education in culture and the arts develops creativity, critical thinking and imagination, while also fostering a sense of belonging and mutual understanding; it supports intercultural dialogue, social cohesion and peace.
For teachers, this is an important takeaway: culture does not compete with the core curriculum—it strengthens it. It brings meaning, context and an emotional “anchor” for knowledge. Without that, even the best content can remain only short-lived information.
What research says about young cultural audiences: agency and relationships
A report by the National Centre for Culture on culture in the lives of children and young people highlights a crucial point: young people want to take part in cultural activities when they feel they have influence over them and when their relationship with facilitators is based on mutual respect. This means that today’s cultural education must be designed not “for” children, but “with” them—engaging, partnership-based, and leaving room for questions and experience.
Decius Ducats: learning through experience, not declarations
It is on these foundations that the Villa Decius Institute of Culture built the Decius Ducats programme: a coherent educational scenario in which history, economics and material heritage work together, rather than appearing as separate topics. The programme begins with a guided visit to the palace-and-park complex, then takes participants through the history of money (from early forms to electronic currency), the threads linking Decius and Copernicus, and monetary policy—leading up to practical numismatic workshops and elements of historical culture (such as a knightly demonstration). The experience is framed by a shared dinner, quiet hours at night, and a morning recap.
The most important innovative element, however, is not “attractiveness” in itself, but the educational meaning of the experience. An overnight stay at Villa Decius makes heritage stop being a topic—and become a learning environment. Pupils do not simply “look at history”; they spend time in a place that remembers it.
Why a night in a historic monument can have more impact than the best classroom lesson
In education, we sometimes say that we remember what is meaningful to us. A night in a Renaissance residence is meaningful by definition—but its value does not come from a “wow” effect. It comes from the fact that it:
activates multisensory learning (space, rhythm of the day, the group as a community),
strengthens relationships and shared responsibility (participants experience rules and cooperation in a real situation),
raises the status of knowledge—if we learn about money, the state and the Renaissance in a place that witnessed historical change, the subject stops being abstract.
UNESCO also reminds us that culture and education are now crucial responses to global challenges—from polarisation to social crises—and that education in culture and the arts is not an “add-on” but a necessary component of more just and sustainable societies.
For schools, this translates into very concrete benefits: pupils learn to interpret the world, understand symbols, hold conversations, listen to others, and at the same time find their roots in local heritage.
Decius Ducats, therefore, is more than an appealing school trip. It is an example of how a cultural institution can support schools in their most demanding task: helping to raise young people who are attentive, responsible and curious about the world—people who can read the past in order to better understand the present.
For teachers, this is an important takeaway: culture does not compete with the core curriculum—it strengthens it. It brings meaning, context and an emotional “anchor” for knowledge. Without that, even the best content can remain only short-lived information.
What research says about young cultural audiences: agency and relationships
A report by the National Centre for Culture on culture in the lives of children and young people highlights a crucial point: young people want to take part in cultural activities when they feel they have influence over them and when their relationship with facilitators is based on mutual respect. This means that today’s cultural education must be designed not “for” children, but “with” them—engaging, partnership-based, and leaving room for questions and experience.
Decius Ducats: learning through experience, not declarations
It is on these foundations that the Villa Decius Institute of Culture built the Decius Ducats programme: a coherent educational scenario in which history, economics and material heritage work together, rather than appearing as separate topics. The programme begins with a guided visit to the palace-and-park complex, then takes participants through the history of money (from early forms to electronic currency), the threads linking Decius and Copernicus, and monetary policy—leading up to practical numismatic workshops and elements of historical culture (such as a knightly demonstration). The experience is framed by a shared dinner, quiet hours at night, and a morning recap.
The most important innovative element, however, is not “attractiveness” in itself, but the educational meaning of the experience. An overnight stay at Villa Decius makes heritage stop being a topic—and become a learning environment. Pupils do not simply “look at history”; they spend time in a place that remembers it.
Why a night in a historic monument can have more impact than the best classroom lesson
In education, we sometimes say that we remember what is meaningful to us. A night in a Renaissance residence is meaningful by definition—but its value does not come from a “wow” effect. It comes from the fact that it:
activates multisensory learning (space, rhythm of the day, the group as a community),
strengthens relationships and shared responsibility (participants experience rules and cooperation in a real situation),
raises the status of knowledge—if we learn about money, the state and the Renaissance in a place that witnessed historical change, the subject stops being abstract.
UNESCO also reminds us that culture and education are now crucial responses to global challenges—from polarisation to social crises—and that education in culture and the arts is not an “add-on” but a necessary component of more just and sustainable societies.
For schools, this translates into very concrete benefits: pupils learn to interpret the world, understand symbols, hold conversations, listen to others, and at the same time find their roots in local heritage.
Decius Ducats, therefore, is more than an appealing school trip. It is an example of how a cultural institution can support schools in their most demanding task: helping to raise young people who are attentive, responsible and curious about the world—people who can read the past in order to better understand the present.