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A Day Trip to Umbria (Todi and Titignano)

Orientation flew by! It was very helpful in familiarizing myself with the city before classes started. I also had a lot of fun during our last orientation activity: a day trip to the towns of Todi and Titignano in Umbria, the province north of Rome!

Our trip to Umbria!

Our first stop was Todi, an ancient town on a hill. Todi was an hour away from the city and was at a lofty 1,350 feet above sea level; it was quite a journey! I climbed up the steps at our destination and enjoyed a wonderful view of Umbria!

Greetings from the hill town of Todi!
View of Umbria from Todi. Elevation: 410 m (1,350 ft) above sea level.

Todi has a long history in Italy. Local legend has it that millenia ago, an eagle had stolen a tablecloth from the ancient people in the region and flew to the hill; the local Italic tribes followed the eagle and built Todi on the hill. The eagle is still a symbol of Todi today. I saw the Todian eagle in the Piazza del Popolo (“People’s Square’) of the town.

The Todian eagle surveys the city from a lofty perch – legend has it that an eagle once stole a tablecloth from an ancient tribe in Umbria and flew to a hill that would later become Todi.
Got to see the Piazza del Populo (“People’s Square”) in Todi.

After its founding legend of the Todian eagle, Todi was an Etruscan town. The ancient Etruscans were from a region in central Italy that was around what is now Tuscany, which shares borders with Umbria and Lazio (the province Rome is in). They formed a major civilization in Italy that predates that of the ancient Romans. The hill was a strategic location for the Etruscans, who relied on the elevation and walls of Todi for protection against invasions.

The ancient Etruscans fought the ancient Romans in several conflicts in the 6th century B.C.E. and onward.  The ancient Romans, who were not yet an empire or republic, were heavily influenced by the culture and technology of the Etruscans, basing their alphabet on those of the ancient Etruscans and adopting the Etruscan sewage system. The Roman cisterns can be accessed from a passageway in the town. The last kings of Rome were also of Etruscan descent; there were also plenty of Roman family names that come from the Etruscans.

The Piazza del Popolo in Todi was once an ancient Roman forum after the ancient Romans absorbed the Etruscan civilization. The walls of Todi were important to the Romans and to the medieval people who lived there in the Middle Ages as well. They provided the people living there with protection from the repeated invasions during times of strife across the centuries. There is also Gothic influence in the architecture of the cathedral north of the Piazza and more Classical inspiration from the Corinthian columns inside.

The Todi Cathedral sits at the north side of the Piazza del Populo – this used to be an ancient Roman Forum!
Some Gothic architecture in the ancient Roman hill town.
Stunning arches over Corinthian columns lining the cathedral, which has a gorgeous stained-glass window and colorful mural.

After our short adventure in Todi, we took a long, winding road to another town: Titignano. There, we were treated to a gorgeous view of the vineyards, lake, and stunning landscape of the region.

Love this view from a terrace at Titignano!

We had a special lunch in the early afternoon that went for two hours. We started with appetizers outside of the restaurant that comprised of pizzete crustini, or small pizzas with various toppings. Once we were indoors, we ate several courses of meats such as ham, salami, prosciutto, wild boar, venison, chicken, and lamb. We also had cheese, pastries, risotto, salad, fruit, and a delicious homemade tiramisù as part of a 14-course meal.

I liked the wild boar pasta and tiramisù the most. Some of my classmates finished their meal with espresso and biscotti with their dessert. I was not used to eating so much so late in the day (I usually eat lunch at or before noon in the States), so I ended up sleeping off the meal on the bus ride home.

Some pizzete crustini (small pizzas with various toppings) as appetizers in our 14-course lunch at Titignano!
What a view of the vineyards and hills of Umbria! Taken from the restaurant in Titignano.

We arrived back in Rome around 7:00 that evening, and with that concluded our orientation at Temple Rome! It was a pleasure getting to meet the Temple Rome staff and my fellow study abroad students on this journey. I learned a lot about life in Rome and Italian culture. Onto classes I go!
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Rome-ientation

My first week at Temple Rome felt like my first week at Holy Cross. Move-in day abroad was a lot like my first move-in day in the United States. After I had unpacked my suitcases, I attended new student orientation, organized by Temple Rome staff. I followed the Alumni Assistants, staff who studied abroad at Temple Rome and were now graduates of the program, to the Temple University Rome campus. We walked for 25 minutes from the Residence to the school building.

I took in all the sights on my walk to campus. Before I arrived in Italy, I had only seen Rome through photographs. Now, I was walking on the same streets as the locals and experiencing the city in person. My favorite part of my first walk was the view across the bridge. I got to see Temple Rome in the evening light. What a first sight of campus!

Greetings from Temple Rome! Excited to be taking classes here for the semester!
What a view of campus across the Tiber river! Taken on my first walk to campus during orientation.

We checked in with the staff and began orientation with a welcome meeting and a huge pizza party. I tried Italian pizza for the first time. It tastes different from the pizza I’ve tried in the United States. Food should be no problem – I like it! I’m looking forward to not only trying the Italian food at local restaurants, but also to trying new recipes from scratch in the apartment kitchen!

I got to meet other students in the program at orientation. A lot of them live in the Residence; some are only a few doors away from where I’m staying. Others are part of the homestay program and live with local families in the area. I also met some classmates who are staying in independent housing with other students. I explored the area with a few new friends and helped one of them get a monthly pass for the metro. We went shopping and got pizza together afterward.

The Flaminio Metro station; I’ll be seeing a lot of this on my commute to and from class! 15 minutes from the Cipro station (a 5 minute walk from the residence).
Got some pizza at a local restaurant! You bet I ate the whole thing! So stuffed…

The other students and I had fun at social events such as a “speed friending” exercise, where we chatted with each other for five minutes before moving onto the next person, and a team scavenger hunt around the area that helped us find convenient places around campus. We named our team “Primo Posto,” which is Italian for “first place.” We got to see sights such as the gorgeous Piazza del Popolo, right outside of the Flaminio metro station, the closest subway stop around campus. We found all the places on our list but did not return to campus in time to be first place. We came in third place.

My first time entering the Piazza del Populo (short walk away from campus). We were sorted into groups for a scavenger hunt. Our team was “Primo Posto,” which mean “first place” in Italian. How fitting: we came in third place!

Part of orientation week involved getting set up with useful tools such Italian SIM cards, textbooks, and even portable Wifi devices! I got all three. I feel much better after getting a good data plan – I can use Google Maps without worrying about my data roaming speeds! We have a lot of data and minutes every month. If we run out of euros for the plan or need to pay for the next month, we can go to Tabacchi or phone stores to refill our plans. We can use a lot of social media apps without tapping into our data, so I got to add a lot of my new friends on social media.

I learned a lot about living in the city during orientation. We listened to talks about the local culture and safety rules from Temple Rome staff and from a representative from the US embassy in Rome. We filled out a few forms for our stay. I’m glad we got help completing our applications for the Permesso di Soggiorno (“Permit of Stay,”) which is a legal document that allows us to stay in Rome. We got our forms done and made appointments to continue the process at the local post office. Glad that’s out of the way!

I am much more prepared for my life in Rome. The jetlag is gone, and I know the city a little better. Can’t wait to see what else I’ll learn during my time here!