Friday, June 20, 2008
Perugia
Today we visited the larger town of Perugia, about 35 mins outside Corciano. We went there to learn the bus system, where to catch the train or bart, basically how to get ourselves around. The bus system was quite interesting. Everything runs on Italian time, which means the bus may say it will come at 9:40, but it will get there when it gets there. Could be 10 mins, could be an hour late :) It seems like many Italians use public transportation, because of the high prices of gas (1.5 euro a liter). So unfortunately the bus gets a tad bit crowded, lots of B.O. and no air conditioning, blech!! :(
Once we got to Perugia, we grabbed some lunch at a local pizzeria, yummy!! Then Jason took us on a walking tour. It is amazing how much history there is, compared to the US. We were walking by walls built in the 4th century B.C. We saw one of the original Etruscan walls and arches, which were then built upon by the Romans. The whole city itself is just built upon itself. We also saw one of the original Roman aqua ducts, which is now used as a walkway.
We then went to one of the old underground Roman bunkers. This is where they used to house all of the soldiers and weapons. After that we went to the Etruscan well. This was the original well they used in the 3rd century B.C. It is still working and full of water. It's amazing how smart the Etruscans and Romans were, that their buildings would last into the 21st century.
After that we went into a little hole in the wall museum, which had old frescoes done by Perugino, who was one of the painters that helped Michelangelo on the Sistine chapel. These were very graphic. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck one in of the beheading of John the Baptist, cuz it was very interesting, eew!
They also have a local museum we went to. It had many early works from the 13th century up to the 16th. It was very nice to be in the air conditioned museum after walking around all day. Most of us were overheated and exhausted. It was so hot that day that I, unfortunately, had to have gelato 3 times that day to stay cool :)
Overall it was a great day, though quite exhausting. Can't wait to see more
Ciao!!
Once we got to Perugia, we grabbed some lunch at a local pizzeria, yummy!! Then Jason took us on a walking tour. It is amazing how much history there is, compared to the US. We were walking by walls built in the 4th century B.C. We saw one of the original Etruscan walls and arches, which were then built upon by the Romans. The whole city itself is just built upon itself. We also saw one of the original Roman aqua ducts, which is now used as a walkway.
We then went to one of the old underground Roman bunkers. This is where they used to house all of the soldiers and weapons. After that we went to the Etruscan well. This was the original well they used in the 3rd century B.C. It is still working and full of water. It's amazing how smart the Etruscans and Romans were, that their buildings would last into the 21st century.
After that we went into a little hole in the wall museum, which had old frescoes done by Perugino, who was one of the painters that helped Michelangelo on the Sistine chapel. These were very graphic. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck one in of the beheading of John the Baptist, cuz it was very interesting, eew!
They also have a local museum we went to. It had many early works from the 13th century up to the 16th. It was very nice to be in the air conditioned museum after walking around all day. Most of us were overheated and exhausted. It was so hot that day that I, unfortunately, had to have gelato 3 times that day to stay cool :)
Overall it was a great day, though quite exhausting. Can't wait to see more
Ciao!!
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