Had our first Umbrian adventure – went to Orvieto for the day. We had a few things we wanted to do, primarily an underground series of tunnels from Roman times – and completely missed on that because it was sold out by the time we went to buy tickets. But we walked around the, yes, medieval town and explored. Raining most of the time, but raincoats and umbrellas worked and we saw most of the town.
The first thing we did was to go down the Well of St. Patrick. Amazing construction of two spiral staircases circling the well. We didn’t read the initial sign too carefully and were curious about the width and shallow depth of the 248 steps down and 249 steps back up and admired the 70 arched windows. Turns out the stairs were designed with windows all the way down for light and with that stair scale so that mules could go down one side and back up the other bringing up bags of water for the towns people. I’m guessing it was hard on the mules, but it was a beautiful design. The Well of St. Patrick was dug at the behest of Pope Clement VII, who had taken refuge in Orvieto during the Sack of Rome in 1527 and designed by Florentine Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
Looking up from the bottom.
Took a bus up from the Well and really started the day with our first coffee –
Then we walked and walked, got lost, walked some more and finally felt like we’d seen most of the town, so stopped for lunch.
Then off to the Duomo, yes, another church. This time, though, we didn’t have any English interpretations for the amazing frescoes and just guessed.
The outside was beautiful, striking and different because of the vividness of the mosaics against the stone. It was started in 1270 and additions continued up until the 1600’s, with the front facade primarily from the 1300’s. Incredible that they’re still so gorgeous. In addition, in the 60’ s Emilio Greco created the bronze doors for the cathedral. The aesthetics were not in dispute, but a national controversy broke out about the church’s historical cycle and when should the cycle be complete for the cathedral. The doors were finally hung in 1970. I thought they were beautiful and in keeping with the cathedral. They now have an exhibit of Greco in the museum next to the duomo. The artist donated statues with statues to Orvieto in recognition of their commitment to him and his art.
We then explored an archeological museum with treasures found in Etruscan tombs. The objects were amazing, made from ceramic, gold, glass, bronze and iron. Primarily from 5th to 3rd centuries BC. Cathy and I were fascinated and spent a long time exploring. Leaf and Sharon fully hit jet lag and Sharon curled up on a bench to sleep a bit while listening to us in the other room – we were the only ones in the museum. They couldn’t believe how long we took and that we had to discuss every single display case. Funny – but they’re right, we took a LONG time. I’d read about the Etruscan finds a number of times, so loved finally getting to see some of the remarkable art. Rick was on a phone call so missed it all. And I didn’t take a single photo!
But then Rick called and he had wandered into the Palazzo Papale (now Palazzo Soliano) attached to the right of the cathedral. It was originally begun in the mid-13th century when the popes moved to Orvieto to escape conflict in Rome. It now shows art removed from the Duomo for protection. What I loved most were these two pieces of Mary and Mary Magdalene.
And then we were on our way home in the rain. Getting back to the tower was a great retreat, made our salad and snack dinner, with the heat turned on in the kitchen. And then to books and bed.
Reb's Walks! 