A week in Civita - my first fashion show

I was forewarned that the bridge to Civita is quite steep, but one thing is to know about it and another is to actually to experience it. Let's just say I was happy to have a backpack and not a big suitcase.

Once I arrived, though, all those efforts were forgotten, the charms of Civita were taking over.

Civita is a beautiful little town in the middle of the calanchi in the province of Viterbo.

This little jewel was founded by the Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago and you can see traces of that culture all over town.

It is quite remote and in constant danger of destruction as its edges fall off, leaving the buildings built on the plateau to crumble.

When I first saw Civita from the bus, I was instantly enchanted. Surrounded by the calanchi, it looked positively dreamy.

As luck would have it, a wedding was celebrated in Civita's church that day (there would be another one during my short stay), so I got to see the very interesting show of people in fancy dresses and suits sweating their way up the bridge.

I have to admit that it felt pretty good to sit in the shade while enjoying this show of Italian elegance.

The bride came up in an ape, though, so she looked fresh and lovely when entering the church.

Riccardo's and Enrica's ape was too cute not to sketch

That day I saw Stephanie again, our teacher for the week, whom I had met in Paraty at last year's USk symposium. She was one of the people I liked the most from the Paraty crowd and it was great to see her again.

The lovely Stephanie, only she's much lovelier in reality

The other participants slowly arrived one after the other. There were people from the US (mainly from Seattle), from the UK and from Switzerland.

All in all a very interesting mix of cultures, ages and skills. Just the kind of surroundings I thrive on and the perfect victims for some lunch and dinner sketches.

Show and tell in the garden with Anne, Suzanna and Marley