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Published: December 19th 2011
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Orvieto
The rose window Night comes quickly to this part of Italy. Perhaps its something to do with the lack of light from houses in the towns or even the clear skies. Lights in the distance look like flyflies twinkling in the distance flitting from tree to tree. Thunder storms too feel more intense with the claps of thunder louder and the lightening looking like someone has switched a light on and then off returning us to darkness again for a few moments. It’s lovely to listen to the sound of the rain pounding on the terracotta roof tiles.
By morning the storm had passed and we were left with a warm and sunny day in the pipeline. We ate breakfast watching the tiny green lizards which were basking in the warmth of the sun.
Today was another urgent and important visit day – Orvieto an imposing town on a volcanic hilltop. Smaller than Siena it is strategically placed above a steep sided hilltop. Tourists do flood in and because it’s smaller it feels more busy. The Gothic Duomo is sublime. It has been called the greatest Gothic building in Italy and I won’t disagree.
We parked in the lower town and
Orvieto
The Duomo used the funicular to get up to the higher town and walked to the square in which the Duomo sits. It is impossible to take it all in as even if you stand on the other side of the square you cannot get far away enough to appreciate it. It is impressive and could be overkill with all its statues, its columns , its use of pink and white marble and an enormous rose window in the middle. It is impossible to take it all in. Inside is a mixture of the zebra like black and white marble bands and its Baroque finery. Not to my taste as I prefer a much simpler style inside. It is a heady combination and I am sure inspires many as the cathedral was full of visitors admiring the architecture and those praying and contemplating silently.
After the quiet of the cathedral we set off in search of lunch. We chose the Tourist Menu in a local café. Sitting in chairs that spilled into the street we found ourselves eating what the Italians think the English like – chips and chicken. Reminder never to chose the tourist menu and to stick to the
Orvieto
View from the belvedere dish of the day instead.
There was an underground Orvieto but we found out about this too late to visit and instead headed to the bottom of the town to the Belvedere. There is a fantastic view across the valley. We were searching for the Pozzo di San Patrizio a well dedicated to St Patrick. We couldn’t find it and in the end decided to walk back to the car stopping en route to sampling a gelato. Pistachio for me and Vanilla for Glenn.
After driving back to Santa Chiara the swimming pool looked inviting. Clean and well cared for. It was wonderful to cool off in the water, swimming felt much nicer here than in my local swimming baths.
Spent the evening on the terrace watching the sun go down over the hill and the army of ants making their way under the wooden gate and across the terrace roof. It looked like a two lane highway with a stream of ants climbing the honey coloured walls and into the spaces between the roof tiles before returning to the terrace by the same route. Another lovely day ………………where to tomorrow ? The important and urgent have almost been done with one more left ..................... Assisi and St Francis .. .
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