Study Abroad Italy - University Semester Programs

Istituto Internazionale Di Studi Classici Di Orvieto:
The Institute is located in the central town square of Orvieto facing the Cathedral, a 14th century church considered to be one of Italy's greatest artistic treasures.

The Institute is situated in a former hospital, built in the 14th century, remodeled in the 19th century, and converted to an institute and headquarters for the Orvieto Civic Foundation in 2001-2002. There are several fully furnished classrooms, each with space for 20 to 50 students, and a computer lab with high speed internet access.

The beautiful three story building has a central block and two flanking wings, enfolding a spacious, private gated garden.

From the Institute you can easily reach the train station from where hourly trains reach Rome in just 50 minutes. The building adjoins a magnificent church with a façade designed by Valadier, Napoleon's renowned architect. Across the square is the famous Gothic cathedral with frescoes by Luca Signorelli.

Location and Facilities:

The town of Orvieto is located in central Italy, in Umbria, the region known as "the green heart of Italy". It stands high on a tufa plateau with cliff walls falling sheer to the valley below.

The town is located just off the A-1 toll autostrada, the principal north-south superhighway of central Italy, and on the express railroad line, la Direttissima, both of which link it quickly to major cities north and south.

The very air of Orvieto is different, with a breeze springing up from nowhere in the afternoon in Piazza del Duomo. A favorite pastime is wandering through the cool lanes of the medieval quarter or ambling along Via del Corso, one of the principal arteries which cuts the modern urban fabric in two. Both visitors to the town and those who live there spend delightful hours in the numerous shops and restaurants lining the street.

Orvieto is a city in which to live and absorb the culture of Italy in all tranquility, unlike the great Italian cities of art, so crowded with tourists. On the other hand Orvieto is also ideally located and the most important Italian and European cities are within easy reach. Art, history and modern life come together in a pleasing blend, and those who have had a taste of life in this medieval city, who have fallen under its spell day after day, inhaling the atmosphere with the mosaics on the cathedral glowing gold at sunset, the warm tawny color of the tufa, the fog that envelops the cliff in the morning, find that sooner or later they must return.