Italy Post #5

Dear Readers,
I’m learning each day how much there is to learn about Italy. And how much I don’t know. The past few days have been filled with long lessons about the people of Italy, the town of Orvieto, and Gordon’s place in it.

Italy is so much different than the states in both good and bad ways. People dress up (like, really dress up), they don’t have air conditioners in their homes, they eat carbs. A lot of carbs. Each day is like a new adventure into the culture of Orvieto.

I went on a walk this morning. I woke up at 5 and couldn’t get back to sleep, so at 6:30 as the sun was finally coming up over the hills, I stepped out of the iron gates of San Paolo to walk around the base of the cliffs of Orvieto. No one was out; I had the whole city to myself. As I made my descent from the cobblestone streets to the dirt path that wraps around the “tufa” stone that gives Orvieto its unique-ness, I encountered another culture in the rock and cement. Orvietans take care of the place they have been given, using modern technology to solve ancient problems. They inject cement into the soft rocks that are the base of the cliffs to make the city more stable. They chop down invasive trees to protect the view that the city provides. They create paths and walks around the city to further enrich the experience of living in Orvieto. Even the Duomo is being cleaned at the moment, a routine event that keeps the cathedral out of harm’s way. The city has found ways to work around its space issues, revering its medieval roots, yet not shunning technology.

Of course, the town isn’t perfect. And is there a possibility that I’ve romanticized it? More than a possibility, I’d say. But, I think that speaks for the time I’m having here. Each day is filled with a routine, but a routine that varies so much that it doesn’t feel old. I don’t think I could ever get used to the beauty of this place.

Off to Rome tomorrow!!!