Bagnoregio was mystical! We had to walk from the bus parking lot, and this picturesque view revealed itself as we emerged through the trees. It felt like something straight out of fantasy.
Good thing we had amazing views to motivate us to climb the steep ramp up to the city!
The town felt like the buildings were stacked on each other, teetering on the edge of the cliff.
It is amazing how many gardens there are on top of the mountain!
The Duomo of Viterbo
The Papal Conclave was held in this building through a portion of the Middle Ages.
I really liked the delicate interweaving arches of what remains of this loggia.
The best way to see Borromini's San Carlino is from across the intersection since the street it's on is so narrow.
The famous courtyard of San Carlino with a bent Serliana motif

EARLY Monday morning, we left Budapest and made it back to Rome at a reasonable enough time to shower, nap, finish watching season two of “Stranger Things,” and eat lunch. That afternoon we had studio, and I did more chores in the evening.

On Tuesday we had a day trip to Bagnoregio and Viterbo. Bagnoregio is a beautiful mountain town. It was similar to the Tuscan hill towns, only more extreme. The historic center is perched on a steep cliff and can be accessed only by a long skinny bridge to the top! The town was sublimely beautiful, and the hike to the top was breathtaking in multiple ways. Viterbo is city that was a Papal retreat in the middle ages.

My drawing class on Wednesday was in Piazza San Pietro drawing the colonnade in front of the Vatican. Then we hustled back to the RGG for lunch, an IT meeting, and studio. After studio one of our professors gave an extra lecture about urban design.

On Thursday we had history in the morning and Italian Experience in the afternoon. For Italian we walked through Monti and the Quirinal Hill, stopping by Bernini’s Sant’Andrea al Quirinale and Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (AKA San Carlino). While both of these Baroque churches are small, San Carlino is so tiny, it could fit inside one of the central piers at Saint Peter’s. We then walked to Rinascente, which is basically a modern mall in the shell of a traditional palazzo. And just to prove how layered Rome is, while the palazzo was being renovated, they found the ruins of an ancient aqueduct in the foundations! In the evening, we had an additional urban design lecture.

Friday was another normal class day. I finally had time to work on my studio project, and good thing since it seems like the deadline is quickly approaching. My weekend was mainly spent in studio, with some exciting excursions in between. On Saturday afternoon I went to St. Peter’s to complete my out-of-class drawing assignment, this time drawing from underneath the colonnade. On Sunday a group of us played soccer in front of the Baths of Trajan, and in the evening we went to Mass at the chapel at La Sapienza, a Roman college, and had a potluck dinner with their students afterwards! It was really cool to be able to sit down and talk to them!