Val d'Orcia and Pienza

 Our group of art and architecture students traveled to Val d'Orcia today for a series of interesting excursions and experiences.  

Pamela (UK), me, Kate (Scotland), Linda (US) and Carol (US)

A few kilometers at the bottom of the hill that Pienza is on, is an interesting find.  We were met by a young man whose family has lived in this area for centuries, of course.  But his family's experience is quite extraordinary.  We met at the church of Santa Caterina, where he led us down these fabulous old steps, covered with moss and slime and eerie fabulousness:

His family has had a farm here for centuries.  In the 19th century, his grandfather purchased some additional land with the intention of adding orchards.  Nothing happened, though.  And it wasn't until the early 20th century that they discovered an image of the Virgin at the back of what they had been using as a wood shed.

There is a law in place in Italy that compels people to call the police whenever artifacts are found, even on private property.  In Italy, nothing of antiquity belongs to you, even if you find it on your property.  So this brought in the archeologists who began excavating the area.  And what they found was this extraordinary series of caves that had been used as dwellings for hermits, an underground church, a burial spot, and even a trash dump:

From here we walked up the hill to Pienza.  A sweet gem of a city, known as la citta perfetta for its exquisite Renaissance layout.  City planning at its finest.  All human-scale, with daily life, devotion and aspiration to Beauty in mind: