Orvieto, First Glance

Orvieto First Glance

I am obliged to show you what Shari and Debbie ate last night in Orvieto.  It is pigeon with a pigeon sausage sauce.  Now they can ‘brag’ that they ate it.

Orvieto is very ancient with evidence it existed back in 800 B.C. which means it existed before the Romans.  The art of the time was very advanced as evidenced by the following.  

Notice the teeth!  Not a normal feature in ancient art.

But, the main reason people come here is the Cathedral.  It was built in the 1300’s A.D.  and the front facade is very striking when the sun hits the inlaid gold in the paintings.  (This is a hard cathedral to capture - double click if you wish to enlarge)

It’s easy to be impressed today, even easier in the 14th century as a poor peasant seeing such an amazing building.

Orvieto is a small city on an isolated hill with precipitous sides.  (More tomorrow on the geology).  We entered the city by funicular, used to access very steep locations.  This is a city protected for centuries by its steep sides.

It is fairly flat in the old city of Orvieto, but the area immediately outside the the edge of the city are much lower.

In medieval times, this would help greatly in controlling access and protection of the citizens.

Like Assisi, it’s easy to find places that are photographic.  I don’t know the name of this church, but, found it wandering along the edge of the city.  Notice what is below the church.  

The last picture is from a tower Shari, Jan, and I climbed at the end of the day.  They said we only climbed 240 steps but it seemed to be many more.

Here is the cathedral from Torre del Moro.

Roberto