Today we got off to an early start as we had ballet class at 10:00 in the studio at Teatro Nuovo, which is an indoor performance venue used by the festival that is quite an uphill trek from out hotel. The dancers were all joking that we didn’t need to take class because our muscles were already warm from the walk! Class was held in the theater’s rehearsal studio, which is a rustic attic space with wide planked and slightly uneven floor that, while full of charm, proved to be a challenge for those in pointe shoes. Even still, it was nice to get our bodies moving after all the traveling.

After class we ventured to the medieval hill town Assisi on the train,  passing through beautiful countryside… fields of sunflowers and vineyards with the hills in the distance; however none of this compared to our first view of Assisi from the train, with it’s amazing architectural detail from another era. We then hiked through the cobblestone streets, taking in the history of the streets and the beauty of the cathedrals. We finished at the at the cathedral of St. Francis, exploring both the large, airy upper basilica and the more intimate lower basilica. The amount of decorative details in both was breath taking.

After that, a few of us headed back to Spoleto on our own and had a relaxing dinner on a beautiful terrace overlooking the valley below Spoleto. The antipasto and pasta were almost as good as the view!

Benjamin Griffiths
PNB Soloist