Val d'Orcia
22 April 2008
So, Saturday the 19th was one of the longest days ever. It was wonderful, but crazy busy. We went
to 7 places!!! We left school at 8:30 am, and returned around 8pm.
Destination #1: First we stopped at a place called Buonconvento to take a coffee. Yes, TAKE a coffee, because that's what we do here. There is always a break for coffee. It it used to be a convent but is now a small town within the original walls.
Buonconvento photo album.
Destination #2: Next we stopped at a place called Monte Oliveto which is an old Benedictine monastary. This place is beautiful. The monastary itself is nestled into a hill inside a
forest of cypress trees, which in case you don't know, are one of my very favorite trees. We only got to walk through the corridor that circles the interior courtyard. The walls are all covered in frescoes depicting the life of St. Benedict. The pictures were very interesting. My favorites were the one that shows some sort of badger looking character as a pet, and another one that has scary devil characters attacking a building.
Monte Oliveto photo album.
Destination #3: Then we made it to the Abbey of Sant' Antimo, which is stands alone in the middle of the countryside. From an architectural
point of view, I like most anything that has vaulted ceilings, so I liked this place. The exterior is made of the beautiful light colored stone (possibly travertine?). The abbey was closing shortly after we stopped there, so we had to make our visit short. After we looked around inside we hung out in the grass for a bit taking in the fresh country air.
Sant' Antimo photo album.
to 7 places!!! We left school at 8:30 am, and returned around 8pm.Destination #1: First we stopped at a place called Buonconvento to take a coffee. Yes, TAKE a coffee, because that's what we do here. There is always a break for coffee. It it used to be a convent but is now a small town within the original walls.
Buonconvento photo album.
Destination #2: Next we stopped at a place called Monte Oliveto which is an old Benedictine monastary. This place is beautiful. The monastary itself is nestled into a hill inside a
forest of cypress trees, which in case you don't know, are one of my very favorite trees. We only got to walk through the corridor that circles the interior courtyard. The walls are all covered in frescoes depicting the life of St. Benedict. The pictures were very interesting. My favorites were the one that shows some sort of badger looking character as a pet, and another one that has scary devil characters attacking a building.Monte Oliveto photo album.
Destination #3: Then we made it to the Abbey of Sant' Antimo, which is stands alone in the middle of the countryside. From an architectural
point of view, I like most anything that has vaulted ceilings, so I liked this place. The exterior is made of the beautiful light colored stone (possibly travertine?). The abbey was closing shortly after we stopped there, so we had to make our visit short. After we looked around inside we hung out in the grass for a bit taking in the fresh country air.Sant' Antimo photo album.
Labels: Buonconvento, Monte Oliveto, Sant' Antimo, Val d'Orcia
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on 22 April 2008 at 22:05.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008 6:14:00 PM
Hi Lisa!! Nice pictures!! Loved the tour.