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Published: February 23rd 2019
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Oct 27-30, 2017 Orvieto
The remainder of our birthday week trip took us for a few days to one of many Umbria hill towns, Orvieto. We hopped back on the train from Rome which took us to the base of the volcanic plug which Orvieto is situated on top of. In fact there are two parts of the town, the modern lower part where the train arrives and the one we were headed to, the medieval upper town. They fortunately have a very inexpensive 90 second funicular ride that you can hop on to take you up the 1,000 feet to the top. When you reach the top you notice that there is still a road that takes you “up” even further into the town. They do have a shuttle bus that can take you into the middle of town, but we decided to walk up the hill to have our first views of the medieval town.
As you leave the funicular station the ruins of a fortress and its surrounding gardens are there with some great views. We only took a quick peek here as figured we can check it out later – we had made
arrangements to drop off our luggage at the BnB to start our explorations. This has worked out for us in many places as we get to have more of the day to explore rather than waiting for the official check in time.
We continued our walk further into town and arrived at the main square where the Cathedral is located. The façade of this 14
th C. Cathedral is impressive covered with mosaics, stained glass and sculptures. There are four marble pillars that are carved with biblical scenes as well as statues of the ox, lion, eagle and angel from the early 1300’s representing the Evangelists. St. Michael is also located higher on the façade. There is so much detail on the façade you must take time to try to absorb it all. Remember that using mosaics, paintings and sculpture was the way they communicated the message of the Church to the masses, therefore the details are important. We decided to come back the next day to explore the interior as well as the Papal Palace that is located next door. The first day was left to getting oriented to Orvieto and taking in the calmness of the surroundings. It
was a nice change from the hectic city of Rome.
When we were looking at the Cathedral we kept thinking it reminded us of another one we had seen – the one in Siena. In reading up on the Cathedral we realized why – the flagstone was laid in 1290 and followed a design done by an architect from Florence. In 1309 an architect and sculptor, Lorenzo Maitani was called in to help as they were having a problem with the load-bearing capability of the structure. Lorenzo changed the design to be more in line with that of the Cathedral in Siena which is why the two are quite similar in looks.
When you enter the Cathedral it is quite open and as a result the size is almost overwhelming with the rows of columns reaching to the ceiling. We were told that there had been many more statues of the apostles but they were removed in 1877 which has simplified the look. There are some fragments of frescoes sill remaining in the niches along the walls and there is a stained glass window that is still in place since the 14
th C.
This Cathedral was a
place that pilgrims would flock to as historically it has held a relic that is believed to prove the miracle of communion bread being turned into the body of Christ. Due to the number of pilgrims that came here due to this belief, the Orvieto Cathedral is an important one. It also was used over the centuries as a Papal refuge whenever he needed to flee from Rome to escape the enemies of the Church at the time.
In the various chapels the walls and ceilings are covered in frescoes telling the stories in the Bible as well as the political upheavals of the time. The details of the figures are outstanding and we learned that on one chapel alone they worked on it for 50 years.
Next door to the Cathedral is the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo which holds the cathedral art collection. One of the highlight pieces is that of a marble Mary and Child that sits beneath a bronze canopy completed around 1300. It had originally been located in a niche in the center of the façade of the Cathedral, but now a replica is in place on the façade. This museum holds numerous paintings
that had once been in place in the Cathedral but are now housed here for everyone to enjoy and for their protection.
There is an interesting mechanical clock located on a tower near the Cathedral. This tower was built from 1347-48 and the clock was installed in order for the Church to keep track of the start and end times of the construction workers on the Cathedral. This information was then used for determining their pay. When it was first installed it only marked the hour, but in the 18
th C. a counterbalance was added in order to ring out the quarter hour as well. We were told that there are two inscriptions on the mechanized clock that are worth noting. On the belt of the “ringer” the translation is “this was the pact between you and me: you to sound forth, and I to do the business” while on the bell the translation of the inscription is “if you want me to respect the pact, strike softly, otherwise I’ll break and you will strike in vain”. You have to wonder if this speaks to the relationship of the “boss” and the “workers” on the Cathedral and it would
definitely be interesting to find out who actually decided to put these sayings on the clock.
While in Orvieto you can take a tour of the underground caves which we understand are quite extensive, but we decided not to do so and take that time to wander the medieval streets of town just taking in the atmosphere and laid back feel. It was a refreshing change from the previous four days in Rome. Don’t get us wrong, we loved every minute of being in Rome, but our time in Orvieto was a time to slow down and relax. The underground caves were used for numerous purposes – storing of wine barrels, stables, cisterns and storage areas. The one spot that would have been interesting to tour but we were not able to as it wasn’t open was the inventive well that was dug in order to have a fresh water supply for the town. As the ground is made of limestone the idea of using rainwater was not a good one as it was absorbed quickly. There was a fear that if the Pope had to retreat to Orvieto in case of unrest in Rome there needed to be
a plentiful supply of water. The solution was digging a well that had two circular staircases that did not intersect so donkeys and a cart could descent on one staircase while another could be coming up the other staircase without meeting. Very ingenious!
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Orvieto and being able to just wander the alleyways, check out the wonderful ceramic ware that are created here and enjoy the wonderful views of the countryside.
It has been a wonderful birthday week with a combination of the wonders of Rome and the hilltop village of Orvieto. It was time to now catch a bus back to Rome and then the train back to Formia and short bus ride to Gaeta and Tsamaya. It was nice to take the bus from Orvieto to Rome as it gave us a different view of this beautiful rolling countryside. If you are in the area, it is a wonderful village to visit while here.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
I have planned to stay in Orvieto in Sep 2018 on my way to starting my Via Francigena in Viterbo...
but decided not to at the last minute. If you had published you blog earlier, I would have made a point of going there. Maybe next time!