Daily Updates
Week Two: 1 October
1 October. Reporting:
After celebrating Thea's birthday and spending a relaxing night in Volterra yesterday, we began our day by visiting the Porta all' Arco. Minkun gave a very energetic presentation on the history of arch and the importance of the arch in general to architecture. Afterwards, we visited Volterra's Etruscan Museum where Thea presented the Hellenistic sarcophagus lid of the Old Married Couple. The alabaster Etruscan urns were unlike anything we had seen before and were produced in such quantity that the museum was filled from room to room with them. Due to the museum's ban on photographs, many of us also surreptitiously took pictures of the various urns for our papers. In the afternoon, we took some time off from archaeology and stopped in quaint-yet-touristy town of San Gimignano before continuing on to Siena. While the girls shopped in souvenir stores, a few of the guys took advantage of the location and picked up a few bottles of the locally-made Vernaccia wine (said to be Michelangelo's favorite). When we finally arrived in Siena, we were somewhat shocked at our very 'piccolo' rooms but pleased to see how close we were to the campo and the main part of town. The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping and wandering around the city. That evening, a bunch of us even participated in a festival that was taking place throughout the city. Different squares of the city were hosting different 'period-parties,' which included Victorian, the Old West, Pirates, Classical, and Medieval-themed parties complete with people in appropriate costumes. A couple of the girls were serenaded by men in Spanish Inquisition uniforms while the other girls taught a few of our very own guys how to waltz on the open-air, Victorian Empire dance floor. All in all, it was probably one of our best days to date.
Everyone walking towards the Porta all'Arco in Volterra
Minkun preparing the audience for his presentation on the Arch.
The Porta all'Arco.
The view of the Tuscan countryside as we walked up to San Gimignano
Ben, Kelsey, and Charles in a piazza in San Gimignano
The view from atop the Torre del Mangia of the famous Piazza del Campo of Siena, where the Palio horse race is held twice annually.
Julie, Briar and Clare standing in the Piazza del Campo in Siena.