I must explain that this was a day that reminds me how perfect the Macerata experience is for students. Students in Rome, Siena or Florence are surrounded by wonderful things, but they do not get the depth of experience that the Macerata students do.

Today was our first "out-of-town" excursion with the students. At 8 a.m. we boarded our charter bus. The last student arrived (running) at 8 sharp. With 24 students, Filiberto, Kim and me there weren't many extra seats on our "small" bus. Our first stop was San Gineseo, about 45 minutes away - closer to the mountains. This was the wall where we entered the town's historic district.

This is the gate (Duh!). We walked in and looked around town. Filiberto explained that the medieval hospital located near the gate was to serve mostly travelers who would get sick or beaten (robbed) on the road.
This hospital no longer serves its original purpose, but because of its historic landmark status (it's from the late 12th century), the current owners can't make changes in the exterior that are not authentic. Lucky for us.
There are lots of historic things to see in San Ginesio but without a doubt the natural beauty is the star. The town elevation is about 2100 feet, so it's between the peaks of the Sibilini Mountains (the Marche's section of the Apennines) and the valley floor below.
As with most things here, pictures fail to do it justice, especially with amateurs like us taking pictures on an inexpensive camera. Just imagine what it really looks like. As the blue sky indicates, we had a beautiful day. Cold, but not awful - especially not for January.
This was Kim and my first trip to this town (population about 4K). Filiberto takes the winter term students here rather than a Roman ruins that we visited in fall 2002. In winter the ruins are too muddy to walk around, so he substitutes this trip.
This Romanesque church is in the town square, and parts of it date back to 1098. A lot of what you see is "new" though: the upper register (Gothic, not Romanesque) was added in 1421.
Under the main worship space is the Oratorio of San Biagio, with incredibly well-preserved frescoes from 1294. Directly in front of Filiberto you may be able to distinguish The Pieta. Believe it or not, we saw all of this (plus had a coffee break) in the span of less than two hours.
Back on the bus for a 40 minute trip to the Abbey of Chiaravalle di Fiastra. Kim and I visited in 2002 so I didn't take many pictures. Visit the link. In Italian, but the pictures are universal :)
John and Audrey from Ball State are clowning around while I'm trying to give a history lesson. The church/monastery was built in 1142. This column, however, is centuries older. Because people then were not concerned with historic preservation, they "recycled" building materials. This column is actually centuries older, from a nearby Roman ruin, which the monks mined for construction. After lunch we stopped at Castello della Rancia. This was also a site we visited before so I didn't take pictures, but check out the link. The castle is also from the 12th Century.
Our final stop of the day was Tolentino. This is the town square with its distinctive clock tower, but it's new - built in the 16th century! The small disk at the top is the phases of the moon, followed by the "old" timekeeping - dividing the day into 6, rather than 24 segments. The large central clock is the "regular" time and the lowest clock indicates the date.


The highlight of Tolentino was the visit to the Basilica of San Nicola of Tolentino. I took this shot from the website - it wasn't this well lit while we were there. The original church and convent come from the 13th century, but much of the present-day basilica is the result of work from over fur centuries.
I'll close with this photo for my Ball State friends - the statue of Beneficence from inside San Nicola.