We are winding down our Umbria visit, but before we depart, I want to share some images from the hilltop city of Orvieto, known internationally for its wine, but offering so much more. About 90 minutes from our hotel, Orvieto is across a small mountain range southwest of Perugia, so we had a nice drive over after our typical breakfast of strong coffee, yogurt, and pastries. We parked below the city and rode up mountain on a funicular.
We arrived inside the walls but here you can see the walls and one of the turrets overlooking the countryside below.
Our first site was St. Patrick’s well, which was constructed in the 1500s to ensure the city had access to water in the event of a siege.
The well is seven stories deep and accessible from top to bottom by two 248-step stairways in a double helix… one for men and donkeys going down and the other for going up.
The staircases are lit by interior windows, but they never meet except at the very bottom.
Good exercise to walk off our pastry-laden breakfast and get in a cardio workout to start the day.
Orvieto’s streets are charming and not too busy.
Of course we stopped in several old churches.
This one is dedicated to saints Andrea and Bartolomeo.
But the most impressive site in Orvieto is its Duomo, one of Italy’s greatest cathedrals.
The facade features incredibly detailed bas relief sculptures by Lorenzo Maitani of Siena depicting the story of creation to the last judgement.
Inside the cathedral are so many stunning statues by Maitani and other artists, it is like a museum of great Renaissance art.
The pieta by Ipolito Scalza was sculpted from one piece of Carrera marble.
Also impressive nearly beyond belief is the art of Fran Angelica and Luca Signorelli in the chapel of San Brizio on one side of the nave.
Signorelli’s Resurrection of the Dead
The Blessed below the prophets on the ceiling, inspiration for the Sistine Chapel
This depiction of the damned looks remarkably modern
And of course, here again is Dante, whose Divine Comedy inspired these frescos.
Our final stop in Orvieto, excluding the wine shop, was the Etruscan museum, filled with artifacts discovered in Orvieto’s necropolis Crossifiso del Tufo and assembled by Eugenio Faina in the 1800s.
It is absolutely amazing that all of these items date back to the 6th century BC.
Pottery was used to hold wine and olive oil
It was also used for ceremonies.
We can only guess what this homo erotic art was meant for…
Oh, Orvieto, you stimulate our imaginings, our appetites, our spirits. Grazie Mille for a great day.
