Orvieto

Tuesday September 24th

Thank goodness the rain had stopped overnight and the sun broke through from time to time, so I was able to put away the warm trousers and get the sandals out again - albeit for only one day, as the rain will be back tomorrow. 

In the early morning we set off for Orvieto, a town some distance from Assisi standing high up above the plain on the remains of old volcanoes. It was a rich Etruscan city which was taken and more or less destroyed by the Romans in 264 BC. It revived in the Middle Ages and became powerful again, but was devastated in the Black Death and eventually came under papal control.

We arrived first at the Piazza del Duomo, and the Duomo is pretty striking.

This is a side view to show the striped design of alternating bands of black basalt and lighter coloured tufa - this is a volcanic area, after all! The church was begun in 1290, though it wasn’t completely finished for 300 years. Its walls started to bulge, and a Sienese architect was brought in to correct it in 1308. As well as stopping it falling down, he is largely responsible for the marble reliefs and statues at the front, the rose window and the mosaics which are gold and really glitter in the sunlight. I can’t resist a closeup up of some of those features.

This was taken when the sun was shining in the afternoon, and my camera really doesn’t do justice to the mosaics - and the top one is missing altogether. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, so the mosaics are about her life, and the top one is her coronation as Queen of Heaven.

Inside, the striped theme continues in the Romanesque nave, and the windows are very thin alabaster to let in a golden light. The sanctuary walls are completely covered with frescos by a local artist and there are further frescos in a chapel on the left which contains a reliquary to hold a miracle cloth which had been showered with blood (supposed to be the blood of Christ) when the host was broken at the mass. We weren’t allowed into this chapel as there was a service in there.  

We did go into the chapel opposite though, the Capella della Madonna di San Brizio. This is also completely covered in frescos. They were begun by Fra Angelico in 1447, but he only did some of the ceiling, as he was only there for three months.

He left drawings for the rest, and the chapel was finished by Luca Signorelli 50 years later. The panels below the ceiling ones deal with the end of the world. The anti-Christ is shown with the world descending into chaos. Signorelli has painted himself into this one at one side. Then other scenes show the Last Judgement. He has painted his unfaithful mistress in one of these scenes, being carried off by a demon! 

They aren’t easy to photograph, so I have chosen this one instead, which I really admired.

These scenes are regarded as some of the finest of the Renaissance. It is said that Michelangelo stopped here on his way to Rome, meaning to stay a couple of nights, and ended up staying three months to study these frescos. 

Outside in the square, we had a view of the Torre del Moro, with an automaton on the top. He strikes every quarter of an hour; I haven’t been able to find the exact  date, but some time in the 14th century anyway. Our guide called him the world’s first robot!

We walked round the town, admiring some of the fascinating little streets and shops.


There were some lovely ceramics which I coveted, but they were all very heavy. Also, anything I really liked seemed to be over €300. I would have liked to replace my big serving plate with one of them - but not at that price!

We walked back to the Museum, to look at some of the art works from the Duomo and various other churches. I photographed quite a few of them.


This is a St Mary Magdalen by Simone Martini. Quite a few of the local churches seemed to have examples of his work, which I suppose might be connected with the architect of the Duomo being from Sienna, as Simone Martini is from Sienna too. Though I know these popular artists were much in demand all over the region.

The Museum is in what is referred to as the Palace of the Popes, since so many popes stayed in Orvieto. This was the Library.

And this is the centrepiece when you enter and leave the Museum.

If you look at my photo of the front of the Duomo, you will see this group above the main door. The current group on the front of the Duomo is a reproduction. This is the original, placed here to protect it from the elements. The reproduction is very good though, I had no idea it wasn’t original. I understand the mosaics are reproductions too.

After Orvieto, we set off to Monte Castello de Vibio, to view a tiny theatre. Monte Castello, like Orvieto, is set high up on a mountain. The views, though lovely, are not as good as those from Orvieto (which I seem unaccountably to have forgotten to photograph).

After admiring the view, we set off through the town, parts of which are still quite medieval.

That’s a well in my photo, now capped off and functioning as a plant stand!

We went to view the Theatro della Concordia, which only seats 99 people. It was built in the early 1800s, and inside is entirely built of wood which has been painted and decorated with frescos. 

There are only about 40 seats in the stalls, all the rest are in boxes. It still holds a great many theatrical productions. You can book a theatre weekend, with B&B and a theatre visit! 

After this visit, we went back to Assisi to rest before going out to our final dinner, which was 3 courses taken from a recipe book belonging in the Vatican, with dishes served to various popes. We had a soup with vegetables and some sort of cereal in it, pheasant on toast with a green vegetable which was possibly chard, and some delicious crepes with a sauce made from fruits of the forest and chocolate! Then we had to go back to the hotel and pack, which was not so good. 

We are off to the airport at 9.30 am.