Our last field trip began with a beautiful drive through the Italian countryside. We passed through beautiful fields filled with wild flowers and vineyards of the most expensive wines in Italy. The Val D'Orcia is located in Tuscany and is more of a region than an actual place. Our first destination was the Monte Olivete Monastery. This monastery, run by Benedictine monks, is home to a famous cloister painted by Sodamo. It is also home to some of the most beautiful Choir stalls that I have seen throughout my journeys.
After looking through the store which contained many herbs and remedies, we all loaded back onto the bus and headed to our next destination, Montalcino. On the way though, we took a quick stop to be tourists and took pictures in front of the vineyards of Brunello wine, more specifically the Bionti-Santi family who makes some of the best wine in Italy. After taking pictures with grapes, we continued on. We arrived in Montalcino and had lunch at this amazing little restaurant. The family that owns it is friends with Marco, and they farm a lot of the vegetables that we ate. Needless to say it was delicious!!
After lunch, we walked down the hill to the monastery of Sant Antimo. This beautiful church is set in the middle of a vast field filled with olive trees. We had the opportunity to sit and listen to a Gregorian Chant which the monks do on a daily basis. It was very cool because it was in this vast church and only six monks were chanting so it was very quiet, yet very moving and interesting. I loved the experience.
Our last stop on the way back to Orvieto was in Pienza. Pienza gave us the opportunity to grab some afternoon Gelato and to gaze at the vast overlook of the Val D'Orcia region. It was absolutely beautiful. After finishing our Geato we explored the town a bit and found some cute little shops. We also took a few moments to take funny pictures. Of Course.
It was a very fitting end to our group adventures of the semester.
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