Change of plans! Originally the plan was to visit Florence, but due to transit trikes we moved the Florence travel day to Saturday and the trip to Orvieto for today. The ancient city of Orvieto is located in the southwest part of Umbria, Italy on the summit of a large volcanic tuff. Like most ancient cities in Italy, Orvieto was built high up on the mountaintops to protect themselves from invaders. So you can imagine the ride up was quite arduous for the bus driver, but it made for a terrific view when we arrived to the top! The first stop was the archeological museum. This museum offers an exhibition of Etruscan pieces, which was an ancient Greek civilization that once lived in this region. Professor Lorenzo walked us around showing various different clay artifacts, statues, and a recreation of an ancient tomb. Really painting a picture of the life in the region before the Romans invaded. After the museum the students took some free time and had the chance to walk around, get gelato, and see the everyday life in Orvieto. The next stop was the cathedral of Orvieto. This was a 14 Century Italian gothic Cathedral dedicated to the assumtion of the Virgin Mary, and known as one of the most important Cathedrals in Central Italy. It is overwhelmingly beautiful, some may say a masterpiece of the post middle ages. It has one of the most magnificent facades in the world, and when you walk inside you are taken over by the vast spacious beauty. Lorenzo walked the students around, explaining the architecture and the biblical stories that were painted on the walls. The trip to Orvieta was wonderful, and after the tour through the Church we made our way back home.
