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!