We woke up and had one last breakfast before having to pack up and say goodbye to Assisi. The buses were packed and we started heading towards our destination: Castiglion Fiorentino. On the way, we stopped at a pottery factory in Deruta where we got to see their process from start to finish. We learned that Deruta’s clay sourced from the Tiber river and nearby hills, making the town a Mecca for Italian hand-painted ceramics. We first saw the shop’s master potter form a pitcher and ridged bowl out of clay in mere seconds before being told about the process of refining the clay past its shaping. After being molded, the clay sits and is eventually fired in a high temperature kiln where it then gets its first layer of paint. After another round in the kiln, the ceramic is given to the shop’s masterful painters. We got to see the intricate designs go from concept to reality using a sort of charcoal stencil. We were then able to browse the shop’s huge supply of varying ceramics. Many of us bought a piece or two to impress our folks back home with the beautiful, traditional designs. Next stop: Perugia.
As we disembarked from our bus, we met our tour guide, Marco, who guided us around Perugia for the day. We started off at the bus stop and made our way down to the ancient quarters. Here we were introduced to the ancient streets of Perugia, which were now underground as the Pope had built a fortress on top of the ancient quarters in 1540 in light of Perugia’s rebellion against the Salt Tax. After crushing the rebellion, the pope forced the salt tax upon the city once again, forcing Perugia to eat their bread without salt. Upon exiting the city, we would discover the symbol of Perugia, the griffin, that lay on top of the old gates. As we kept moving through the city, we would tour a church with tilted pillars and a multitude of artistic techniques from across the centuries. Moreover, the church also has the supposed marriage ring of the Virgin Mary which was stolen by a German in revenge for being labeled a thief by Perugia.
After finishing the tour of the city, we were let loose in the main square of Perugia to ravage the countless chocolate shops scattered across the town. Taking advantage of the self-serve chocolate kiosks, we eventually headed to lunch with several bags of assorted chocolates, although a majority of them were completely melted in the face of the massive heatwave blanketing Europe by the time we got to the restaurant. To be perfectly honest we wouldn’t have found the restaurant if a waiter hadn’t walked right up to us and ushered us directly in, not really taking no for an answer. Seeing as we were looking for a place to eat either way, we obliged and found ourselves quite a few feet underground in a tucked away pizzeria, where we found another group of CFH students already eating. These people sure knew how to trap tourists. Most people ordered a shrimp and salmon pasta blend, though a number of other dishes were also served (including the ever-reliable Margherita pizza, of course). After finishing lunch and paying with a ragtag assortment of coins, mismatched bills, and credit cards, we returned to the chocolate shops to explore more mouthwatering options.
We arrived in Castiglion Fiorentino and, with two hours to spare before dinner, we decided to go to the local washateria, Bluewater, to rid ourselves of our bioweapons (dirty clothes). We had all five washers running full time for both hours, and some students took a detour to the local grocery shop to buy limon and orange soda, which have proven to be group favorites. After running the machines until seconds before dinner, some of us were left running in and out of the dining room to go pick up our clothes. We then embarked on our gelato hike (allegedly one mile uphill) and visited some local attractions, including a mini trampoline park which we were banned from using (admittedly a fair decision). After crashing back through the doors two hours later, we wrapped up our day with some much needed rest following our extensive travel, excited about the new showers and locale.
