Tour of Orvieto

Naples and all Campania Region has so much to offer to the tourist: sun, sea, unspoiled beaches, cliffs withRoman ruins, marinas, archaeological parks etc. But the Bel Paese has not only a Mediterranean soul, butalso a medieval soul that is able to enchant the visitor with the same force: medieval villages stillsurrounded by the old wall, tangled streets over which public buildings are facing and private built with thecharacteristic red bricks, basil facades made of polychrome marble, Gothic or Romanesque churches ….even here the list of wonders could continue.

If you want to taste the medieval beauty of Italy, contact Naples Tour Service and book your one-day trip toOrvieto, a small medieval Town right at the beginning of Umbria, a Region that hosts several medievalvillages. You will be picked up from your hotel, station or any other point and driven (in just few hours) onboard of air-conditioned minivan with wi-fi and all the comforts in Orvieto.

Orvieto will strike you when you are still on the highway: you will see a small hamlet perched high up on atuff cliff where the dominant colors are the marroncino and ocher of the sloping buildings between whichthe “Torre del Moro” and the beautiful facade of the Duomo of Orvieto. Behind the city the green of theUmbrian Apennines; instead under the cliff that holds the city, the Paglia River, a right-wing tributary of theTiber. Here is another face of fascinating Italy!

What does Orvieto reserve in its historic center? What do you do not have to miss out on this medievaljewel? There is only one answer to these questions, because each has its own way of living a place,everyone has its own interests and tastes. However, we can give you tips and information on majorattractions:

• Duomo di Orvieto, a masterpiece of Gothic-Romanesque art, whose construction lasted from 1290 to1550. Attention is its facade for the rosette, the spiers and bas-reliefs depicting events mentioned in theOld and the New Testament. Not least is the interior of the cathedral, to which various artists have worked(Arnolfo di Cambio, Lorenzo Maitani and Orcagna). Not to be missed are two chapels, that of San Brizio,which opens on the right transept of the cathedral, and that of the Corporal. The first is a masterpiece ofItalian Renaissance painting: the Universal Judgment is represented; The second one houses the famousflax sheet which, according to the legend, would have stained with the blood soured suddenly by the hostduring a Mass in Bolsena in 1263. The Orvieto Cathedral was built to Pope Nicholas IV , just toaccommodate that sheet.

• St. Patrick’s Well, said so for the resemblance to the Irish cave where the saint loved to take refuge. It wasmade by Pope Clement VII to secure water, even in the case of siege, to Orvieto, where the pontiff himselfhad fled because Rome was in the hands of the enemies. It is a fifteenth-century civil engineeringmasterpiece: it is a well 13 m long and 62 m deep, all dug into the tuff and illuminated by 70 windows. Thearchitect who designed it (Antonio da Sangallo) had a brilliant idea: he equipped it with two helical scales,completely autonomous among them; one was required for the descent, the other for the ascent so as notto create confusion during loading and unloading of water into the pit.

• Orvieto Sotterranea, a labyrinth of caves, cisterns, tunnels and wells, can be visited by expert guide thatwill explain the use of various environments over time.

• Piazza del Popolo, the heart of the ancient city of Orvieto; over it overlooks the Palace of the Captain ofthe People, the ancient city authority.

• Torre del Moro, thus named by the owner of the palace under the tower itself, a certain Gualtiero calledthe Moro; From its top (reachable by 250 steps) you can enjoy a breathtaking view that embraces allOrvieto.

• Fortress of Albornoz, named after Cardinal Egidio Albornoz, who in 1359 built it; Inside there is a publicgarden where locals and tourists go to relax.You can certainly not leave Orvieto without having to taste its cuisine; Here are some typical dishes: the”umbrichelli”, a special pasta made with eggs, flour and wine and seasoned with truffles or mushrooms, the”pear of Monteleone or Villano steak”, a very thick and nutritious steak “Chicken Cacciatora style ” and assweet donuts, all accompanied by local wines such as “Trebbiano”, “Sangiovese” and “Muffa Nobile”, a docmade from very mature grapes attached by mold “Botrytis cinerea “.

Your journey to the discovery of medieval Italy is not over yet: after (or before) visit to Orvieto, our driverwill take you to a really special country, nicknamed “the city that dies”; in fact this small fraction rises on atufa plate that is likely to collapse as the clay banks supporting it are subjected to continuous erosion (eachyear they lose 7 cm!). What are we talking about? Of Civita di Bagnoregio, a fraction of the town ofBagnoregio, inhabited, thought, only by sixteen people and reachable only by a pedestrian concrete bridge.It will be an unforgettable experience to visit this hamlet perched on the tuff with its back behind the so-called valley of badlands!

Contact Naples Tour Service and arrange your excursion in the Middle Ages