Day 3 in Spoleto—with our first full day of classes—began at Piazza del Duomo, where SSA co-founder and native Spoletino Lorenzo Muti gave students from both intensives a personal tour of Spoleto’s main church, or duomo. He explained fresco styles, spiritual icons, Romanesque style, and all the history of the ancient city of Spoleto.

Then the visual arts students sat on the steps of the piazza to work on their first sketches of the program, with hands-on instruction from faculty Raul Miyar.

The photography students also used the city as their textbook this morning, wandering the streets with faculty Heather Teets on a search for inspiration…and they didn’t have to look far.

After their lunchtime break and down time, the visual art students were back in the studio to begin their self portraits, drawn using mirrors rather than pictures.

Finally, the day concluded with a delicious dinner at La Lanterna, with strangozzi pasta two different ways, grilled local meats and potatoes, and as always, copious amounts of water. Tomorrow the students are in for a special treat in the afternoon…but no spoilers! Stay tuned to find out!