Sienna

In my contemporary Italy class, we have been learning about the PALIO... which is a century old tradition in Sienna. It is a horse race that takes place two times every summer. It is rich in tradition and history. The town is divided into Contrade, which are teams and are determined by where a person is born.... elephants, unicorns, eagle...The piazza where the race is held is amazing with the campanile and cafes surrounding it. We also saw the basilica of st. catherine... and inside her head!!

It was really interesting. We visited a museum of the palio and saw uniforms worn by the jockeys, banners, and pictures of past winners. The race only lasts one and a half minutes... but preparation starts months before. I had lunch in the square while watching students meet by the fountain and admiring the beatiful architecture! ... the lasagna was amzing too :) I really had a good time with my class!! Sienna was beautiful!!

Orvieto

Orvieto is a beautiful town close to Perugia. We took a fenicula to the center of town and were dropped off in a garden overlooking the region.

The view was incredible and we saw an etruscan well and door to the city. We finally had a sunny day without rain, which made it even better.

The duomo of Orvieto is breathtaking... very colorful and large. It was built over the course of three centuries resulting in a mix of architectural design. As the sunset, all the colors of the basilica were brightly illuminated. Not far from the church, we walked through the medieval quarter and saw many little streets filled with small churches and stores. Near the medieval quarter, was another point of view... which was phenomenal! Olive trees, grapes, lavendar, beautiful houses stretched out for miles. We couldn't get enough!! Later that day, we had a nice dinner and had a cafe at a pretty bar near the duomo...

Orvieto is a beautiful place!! It was a really nice day : )