Semester at Sea Summer '09

If you wish to spend the day in Rome on your own, this is one way to do it. You don’t have to worry about changing money in Civitavecchia, just hop on the bus and stop at a bank when you arrive in Rome. You will have an English-speaking escort on the coach to and from Rome, giving you useful information about the city, its transportation, sightseeing and shopping. A map of Rome will also be included. Due to the volume of tourists, tour buses cannot enter Rome’s city center to drop off passengers. You will be dropped off and picked up at the same location – a ten-minute walk from Via Condotti, the famous street of designer’s shops, right near by the Spanish Steps or St. Peter’s Square (at the Gianicolo parking lot). Arrival time in Rome will be approximately 1100. For the return, please meet at 1745 as the bus will depart at 1800 for the ship.

Out on a limb from the rest of Umbria, Orvieto is perfectly placed between Rome and Florence. Visitors flood the town, drawn first by the duomo, one of the greatest Gothic buildings in Italy. Though compact, the town itself has a charm all its own and is worth exploring.

Upon arriving in Orvieto, enjoy a pleasant guided of the through town and discover Orvieto’s surprising and unexpected “underground city,” created by ancient inhabitants over approximately 2,500 years of uninterrupted digging. A medieval town, Orvieto sits atop older Etruscan tombs. Spend an hour touring both the city above and the city below. Following the grottoes, enjoy a typical lunch in the center of old town.

After lunch, explore Orvieto and the famous duomo on your own. Orvieto is small enough that you can walk from one end to the other in 30 minutes, but the more adventurous will enjoy getting lost among the winding lanes and shadowed alleys that suddenly open into bright piazzas. The glittering mosaic façade of the duomo itself is visible for miles, and the cathedral is definitely worth a visit. Originally begun in the Romanesque style, the duomo took 30 years to plan and nearly three centuries to complete. Ever-changing architects added Gothic elements to the cathedral. Once inside, view the splendid frescoes of Luca Signorelli, from which Michelangelo is said to have been inspired, and which some critics consider a greater masterpiece than Michelangelo’s frescoes inside the Sistine Chapel. Orvieto itself offers splendid views of the surrounding countryside, perched as it is atop a jutting cliff. The combination of ancient village and breathtaking scenery offer visitors a unique appeal.