AN UNSEASONABLY COLD JUNE NIGHT was made perceptibly hotter when nearly a dozen scantily-clad young area women strutted and sashayed across Cagli's main piazza on Sunday night.

The young women were part of the Miss Mondo competition, a Cagliese tradition since 2005, and were vying for a shot at becoming Miss Italy. The area women braved the bone-chilling temperatures to dance about on a specially-constructed stage while wearing a variety of revealing outfits.

"E' bello!" a local man shouted out, raising his alcoholic drink in the air.

Student Anna Youngquist sat at a table in the piazza. "I'm left speechless," she gasped, spooning gobs of thick hot chocolate into her mouth.

Video professor Dan Garrity, however, had plenty to say after he was shooed away by event staff while trying to film the festivities.

"I felt disrespected," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not sure they understand what GUTV (Gonzaga University TV --ed.) is all about. Since its inception in 2001, viewership has increased fourfold. We now reach literally dozens of viewers-- and they kicked me out?"

Asked if a possible 'communication mismatch' might have occured, Garrity conceded the possiblity.

"My Italian's not too great," he admitted, as "It's Raining Men" played in the background. "But I'm still pretty sure he said I'll never work in this town again."

The end of the night was somewhat anticlimactic, with many spectators being confused over who actually won the competition.

"It was number three," student Jesse Herwitz stated with authority.

"Numero otto was the winner!" shouted a local man.

As late as Monday afternoon, Web Design professor Cindy Bonfini-Hotlosz was claiming that number eleven was the actual winner.

In the end, though, we can all agree that the real winners were those who turned out in the piazza on a cold Sunday night to watch the spectacle.

To those students who wasted their weekend on the tired and tedious treasures of Florence, we can only offer our pity and condolances. While the crumbling Duomo has been around for 570 years and isn't going anywhere, and whereas the dusty old masterpieces of art grow only ever more dusty, the real natural beauty of Italy was on display right here in Cagli. For whereas the Galleria degli Uffizi is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 to 6:50 and closed New Year’s Day, May 1st, and Christmas Day, Miss Mondo comes but once a year.