Cooking & Sunflowers

Yesterday, our Taste of Umbria students experienced an elaborate cooking class at Il Tempio del Gusto in Spoleto! They learned to prepare a four course Italian meal before enjoying the fruits of their labor.

They then headed into the valley below Spoleto to view the beautiful, vibrant sunflower fields and practice their photography skills. Check out this reel of their experience, thanks to Park Tudor & SSA faculty Heather Teets!

They finished their day by celebrating a very special 16th birthday, featuring all these delicious Italian pastries!

Taste of Umbria: Todi & Ceramics

For the students’ first morning in Spoleto, they enjoyed a delicious breakfast at their new home, Palazzo Leti.

Then it was off to Todi, a small town about 45 minutes west of Spoleto, for a historical tour, followed by lunch as a group.

Next, a short drive over to the hill town of Deruta. Long known as a center of refined maiolica (a form of pottery) manufacture, Deruta remains known for its ceramics, which are exported worldwide. The students had the opportunity to make their own ceramics in a special masterclass. They painted plates and made seasonal clay pieces.

Fresco Frenzy!

It’s not everyday you get the chance to paint your own fresco, but our Visual Arts students did!

Fresco painting, famously associated with the Italian Renaissance, is a technique of mural painting executed on freshly laid, wet plaster. There are thousands of frescoes all over Italy, and our students got to visit an art restoration site near Spoleto to try their hands at this historic art medium.

The students continue to work on their self portraits as well, in preparation for their final presentation Thursday. We can’t believe the program is almost over!

A Saturday in Siena

For the first day trip of our 2025 Visual Arts Intensive, the students headed two hours northeast of Spoleto to Siena! A historic city rich with art, architecture, and fabulous shopping, Siena is always a favorite outing for our students.

The students got to witness the town be prepared for the Palio di Siena, a famous horse race that occurs twice a year around the main square. They even bought flags to support different teams! They toured the beautiful duomo and then had some delicious pizza in the middle of town where the Palio will be held. They finished their day in Siena with some sketching, before heading back to Spoleto for dinner.

Sketching & Shopping!

Our 7 Visual Arts students spent their morning working on charcoal sketching in Piazza Mercato, and we’re very impressed!

The students are already learning their way around Spoleto, and have spent time shopping (practicing their Italian!) and exploring both the historic, “upper” Spoleto and the newer, “lower” Spoleto.

They spent their afternoon class time working on their self portraits, working with mirrors rather than off of pictures.

First Day of Classes & a Trip to the Art Store

After their first night in the convent, the students awoke and enjoyed breakfast (and music!) before heading to their first art class. They visited Paoluzi, a renowned art store that sells everything from paints and brushes to hand-stitched leather journals.

After their morning class, they had lunch as a group in Piazzo Mercato before enjoying some free time. Then it was back into the art studio (did we mention this is an art INTENSIVE?) for the rest of the afternoon. The day ended with dinner all together in the outdoor garden of Ristorante Sabatini.

Visual Arts Intensive 2025 Begins!

A new batch of students has arrived in Spoleto for our 2025 Visual Arts Intensive!

After everyone arrived at Rome Fiumicino airport, the students and staff took a private bus to Spoleto and got settled in the convent. Then some well-deserved pasta for lunch and naps for all!

After resting, they did a walking tour of Old Spoleto with Spoleto Study Abroad co-director and native of Spoleto Lorenzo Muti. They finished the day with gelato from the popular Crispini Gelateria in Piazza Mercato.

Day 12: Assisi and Spello

On our second to last day, we journeyed to the two hill towns of Assisi and Spello, just a few kilometers north of Spoleto. Before ascending the hill into Assisi, we stopped briefly at Santa Maria dei Angeli, to see the church where St. Francis began his work, and where he died after only forty-four years of life.

Then we headed up the hill to Assisi, stopping at the church of Saint Claire/Chiara, a young woman of noble birth who left her family to join St. Francis and the rest of his order in living a simple life. After a quick coffee break, it was off to the Basilica of St. Francis, a magnificent and ornate structure that, as SSA founder Lorenzo Muti pointed out to the students, is the antithesis of how St. Francis lived his life. Hardly an inch of the walls and ceilings is without a fresco or painting, and we saw many monks, nuns, priests, and pilgrims as we wandered the basilica.

Next stop: Spello. A tiny hill town between Spoleto and Assisi, Spello is known best for its flower festival in June, where the narrow streets are filled with art made from flowers and flower petals. The students had time to shop, explore, and sketch/photograph if they wished. Thankfully, the weather today stayed below 90 and everyone was, for the most part, much more comfortable than previous days out and about in Umbria.

Finally, the students enjoyed a much-earned free evening, where they could have dinner on their own anywhere they chose in Spoleto.

Tomorrow, we prepare to say goodbye to our incredible intensive students, and hold our student showcase, where everyone can present their final pieces to their peers and teachers. It’s been a great almost two weeks, and we can’t wait to be back next summer!

Day 11: Finishing Strong

First off, apologies for the lack of a Day 10 blog post yesterday. We had a very full day, and the heat and pace at which we’ve all been going has meant some students aren’t feeling well. So, as it should be, taking care of them takes priority over an evening blog post.

But tonight there are no such distractions!

The students from both intensives gathered in Piazza del Mercato, and after a quick coffee or cornetto, settled down to work. Visual Arts students sketched the piazza’s ornate buildings, narrow offshoot alleys, and numerous cafes. Photography students worked with capturing the morning light, editing and masking to find the perfect balance for the ideal photos.

Then, like a gift from God, a sprinkle of rain began to fall. The drizzle lasted only for a brief few minutes, but it returned in the afternoon with more force, dropping temperatures and increasing the breeze and drawing the students out onto their patios/balconies to enjoy a much-needed change from the heat.

Thankfully, the rain cleared just in time to head to classes, as the students work to finish their self-portraits and photo presentations for Thursday’s showcase.

After dinner at the Hotel Clitunno, it was back to the convent for the second round of student presentations. SSA Director Jill Muti commented on how impressed she was by the very clear improvement each and every student made from Day 1 to now.

Tomorrow, the temperatures remain in the 80s and we head to Assisi and Spello for a full day of hilltown exploration. I, personally, can’t wait!

Day 9: A Day of Rest

After going at a fairly rapid pace for the first week of the program, our students enjoyed a slower morning, sleeping in late, getting coffee in town, and even heading to Spoleto’s public pool for some much-needed cooling off.

After their leisurely morning, classes resumed, with visual arts students adding detail, light, and backgrounds to their self portraits and photography students fine tuning their filters, settings, and editing photos from yesterday’s trip to Orvieto.

The evening concluded with student presentations, where half of the students shared their work with everyone, now that we are halfway through the program. We were amazed at some of the urban sketches, and could see clear improvement in each day’s changes to the self portraits. We can’t wait to see the final products at our student showcase on Thursday!

Day 8: Orvieto

Happy Saturday! For a fun weekend outing, we headed to the hill town of Orvieto, located west of Spoleto, just on the edge of the border between Umbria and Lazio.

Built as a fortress by the Etruscans millennia ago, Orvieto sits atop an elaborate cave system, which our students had the opportunity to tour. The city’s duomo is a magnificent Gothic construction, with an elaborate facade of contrasting black and white marble, gold inlays, bronze statues, and more. Photography faculty Heather Teets led the students through the Duomo, discussing the features of Gothic architecture, the frescos within, and much more.

We returned back to Spoleto for a dinner of gnocchi, braised beef, and gelato with meringue and forest fruits. While some students chose to head back for an early night—it’s been a long week!—others went on a scavenger hunt throughout Spoleto, culminating in free gelato for the winners. Alas, they finished the hunt in less than half an hour…next time, we’ll make it a lot harder!

Day 7: San Salvatore

There was much rejoicing this morning as we were all awakened by thunder and rain! With some slightly cooler temperatures and a strong breeze, the students headed down the scale mobile (escalators that connect Old to New Spoleto) to the weekly market, which provides a great opportunity for vivid photographs and urban sketching.

Then they walked out to the local cemetery and the Basilica di San Salvatore, a beautiful stone church that, while temporarily closed, is beautiful on the outside and has a rich history within the local community. Each family plot in the cemetery boasts its own unique architecture and story, and the students spent the rest of the morning sketching and photographing throughout the cemetery.

Tomorrow, we have our first day trip out of Spoleto, to the Etruscan hill town of Orvieto! Get ready for lots of pictures!

A domani!

Day 6: La Rocca and a Masterclass

This morning in Spoleto—thankfully much cooler than yesterday—began with a tour of La Rocca, a 14th century fortress that has been a papal residence and then a prison. Spoleto Study Abroad’s Lorenzo Muti took all students on a tour throughout La Rocca, detailing the exciting history (and beautiful artwork) of this building. Students then took time to sketch or photograph under the guidance of their instructors

After lunch and rest time, it was back to the studio to continue work on their final projects. Look how far some of these portraits have come!

The evening finished with a masterclass of sorts as faculty Heather Teets and Raul Miyar presented and discussed some of their own work. Heather shared her love of black and white photography, bird images, and more, while Raul showed his love of hand crafting artwork for his students through meaningful “amulets” and pieces of jewelry.

Day 5: Becoming Italian Chefs

Today was all about food…

The kitchen staff of Il Tempo Del Gusto, one of Spoleto’s nicest restaurants, welcomed the students to a cooking class. But not just any cooking class….there were two types of pasta, bread, stuffed zucchini blossoms, and dessert! Every student got to try their hand at one of the dishes, from hand-cutting strangozzi pasta to kneading bread.

Then it was off to enough the fruits of their labor! Ricotta stuffed zucchini blossoms with pesto and prosciutto, strangozzi alla Spoletina, ravioli with truffle sauce, and Umbrian crescionda (a chocolate and almond mousse-like cake). The staff was more than happy to join in on this delicious meal!

In the afternoon, after conquering well-deserved food comas, they were back in the studio for classes, working on photo editing or self portraits.

A hot but lovely day in Spoleto! A domani!

Day 4: Working Along the Corso + Movie Night!

Classes kicked off along the corso, or path, this morning, with visual arts students sketching the depth of the street and the buildings, while photography students took pictures of the local shop owners (and made some new friends!)

After lunch, it was down to the local art store Paoluzzi for a bookmaking demonstration…and a few lucky students were able to try their hand at making journals! Every Spoleto Study Abroad student this summer received a handmade SSA journal from Paoluzzi when they arrived. Owner Roberto and his son Fabio are longtime friends of the program and their art store is a must visit for the visual arts students.

Finally, the day concluded with dinner at the Hotel Clitunno again, with a special chocolate lava cake for dessert…followed by movie night at a small theatre just off the main piazza in Old Town.