Orvieto - Cute town with hidden depths
- Apr 1, 2017
- 4 min read
Of course the day started with a storm.
Not the kind of 'oh no its raining today' scenario.
It was the ' thunder and lightning never-ending like I have never seen' kind of storm.
We braved it during a lull, which didn't last long enough to get us on the bus!
A good half day later through wind and rain, we made it to Orvieto!
A little cliff-side city, residing on what they called a 'volcanic tuff'
I was totally thrilled to get to ride a little tram/cablecar up the mountain side to get to the city itself from the train station. Our timing wasn't great though - we had coincided with a school trip and it felts like the Tokyo rush hour experience again. Well maybe not that bad :)
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The first sights of Orvieto took us around a teeny tiny castle top structure.
Its still drizzly, and Ryan was still adamant he was going to wear shorts :D ha!
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We wondered along the main street towards a small hotel, who showed us to our Airbnb apartment. A little confusing because we rented privately, but they must have an agreement.
The room was too lovely! A studio apartment all rustic and cave-like to fit the feel of the city.
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AND there was L'antica Rupe - which has THE BEST antipasti ever. We ordered, and plates just kept coming. We thought we must be getting someones elses dishes, but apparently not!
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Our walk about found these gorgeous guys!
No I have not yet named them to myself, BUT there is still time.
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The pups certainly have the right idea, because they are looking towards this:
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This is really the green belt of Italy. A shame we don't have time to see more of Umbria!
The town itself however is great - a little bit like the old Roman cities in the UK (which are totally my favorites!) With more of a small town feel. Winding cobbled streets, and medieval alleyways. Rooftops all overlapping and interlocking, pretty churches and a faint air of 'nothing modern'
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The Orvieto Cathedral is a 14th century beauty which retained its gothic style. The intricacies of the artwork on the outside are the most impressive I have seen. Inside is not quite as decor heavy, but it might have been once upon a time.
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So after that impressive little detour, we went on a real tour!
This is rare for us, but we had to join the small crowd as it is the only way to be allowed to see the caves,.
They were created as defenses to the city in case of siege. Probably sensible as they are on a cliff. There are hundreds! You cannot see them mainly, as they are still privately owned. Each house in Orvieto has a small cave - usually used as a cellar today. They are not all interconnected, but a few are, and those are the ones they have opened for the public.
The first one we went to used to have a whole olive oil operation running in it - perfect because it kept the temperature to 15 degrees at all times of the year.
The second was full of holes in the walls. You will never guess what they holes were for!
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Homing Pigeons!
The houses the birds to provide a staple source of food for the city, which was super low to keep because they fed themselves, easy to replenish as they have chicks every month or so, and they keep coming back!
I thought it a pretty novel idea!
We were on our way back, discussing if we should watch Gossip Girl or not. You could say we saw a sign! Literally! :D
Ok. So it does not say it exactly, but on first glance, we were totally convinced it did! And thats enough for me!
Before I write off a few more bits and bobs:
this place has TINY cars! I assume to get around all the tiny streets, but there were actually tourists posing with this one before the guy came back!
Ok - ANNNND another last bit! Our final excursion was to the well.
Pozzo di San Patrizio - St Patrick's Well
Usually A well is just a tunnel to some water and a bucket I guess. This one is a bit different.
The whole city didn't have a continuous supply of water, they could collect at the base of the cliff from spring water, but this was quickly absorbed by the limestone base of the cliff (tufa, and they would fill underground rainwater cisterns.
So they decided to build a spiraling staircase right down to the water table itself. It is 200ft deep, with 72 arched windows - just in case your into the facts :)
You easily potter all the way down, cross the bridge, and not-so-easily slowly crawl all the way up the other stair well for a one-way system. AND try to take cool photos as you go of course. Not too easy in the dim light!
It is a little bit timeless and fun to see :)
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So we have been totally charmed by this laid-back medieval city. Ciao Orvieto!
Much love
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