Orvieto, Italy

In the fall of 2023, I was a member of a program modeled after monastic living. Nestled within the heart of Umbria, Italy, Gordon in Orvieto is established in a refurbished convent near the edge of the small hilltop town. At its core, the program is a communal experience of art and history throughout Italy. 

During my five-month stay, I studied:

Disegno in Orvieto

✶ Drawing and design in relationship to the town of Orvieto.

Virgil in Umbria

✶ Analysis and discussion of Virgil's poems Aeneid and Georgics.

Women, Religion, and Reform

✶ Examination of convent life and women's contributions to art, science, literature, and belief in Renaissance and Reformation times. 

Poetry and Ekphrasis

✶ Craft and study of the relationship between poetry and pictoral arts in the Renaissance style of ekphrasis.