We arrived at Orvieto and made our way up the elevator and to our hotel. It was a bit of a hike, but I really do like having my backpack suitcase. We were also warned in advance so that we could leave some stuff on the bus if we weren't going to need it.
At the hotel, we had a lovely welcome with drinks and snacks. Tricia treated us to a language lesson to prepare us for our next day's task - the market! We learned several words to help us buy things in the market for a picnic lunch the next day. After our welcome, we made our way to the Duomo. The outside of the Duomo is just spectacular and is really best viewed in the evening when the sun lights up the facade. It was just absolutely stunning. We even had a great sky to just make the pictures even better. Inside the church, we visited the Chapel of San Brizio to appreciate the frescoes of Luca Signnorelli. These frescoes were much later than those of Giotto, painted between 1499 and 1504. You could really see the development of the style over the years. After the chapel, we wandered about the Duomo a bit. I went to the Chapel of the Corporal. This chapel holds a church relic - a bloody cloth. The cloth was being used during a mass given by a priest having a crisis of faith. During the Eucharist, when the bread was blessed and broken, it began to bleed. The people of Orvieto still celebrate this event, Corpus Domini, yearly. After the Duomo, I joined some tour members for dinner followed by gelato. Orvieto was home to my favorite gelateria - which I visited three times! (See the dining section for more information about all food related things.) You can click on the pictures below to enlarge. |
The morning in Orvieto was free. We were tasked with picking up some items for our lunch picnic, but otherwise we were able to enjoy our time as we wished. I started the day at the market picking up a lovely melone and some prosciutto. Then I got myself some dried strawberries and cherries to enjoy the rest of the trip. I did all of this in Italian, so I felt quite accomplished. I then took the Rick Steves' Orvieto walk and enjoyed some lovely views over Umbria. I then had time to relax and have a little gelato before lunch.
We had our picnic lunch on the wall overlooking the plain below. Our group put together a wonderful spread and I must say, I did an excellent job selecting my melone. Prosciutto e melone is one of my favorite appetizers in Italy. I would highly recommend. With our bellies full, we made our way back to hotel and off to the bus for our day trip to Civita di Bagnoregio. We made a stop along the way to get some great pictures of the town of Orvieto. Civita di Bagnoregio is a hill town that is only accessible via a walkway. There are very few residents that still live there. Due to the heat and my sensitivity to migraines, I decided to hang back at the bar with a few tour members and have a nice espresso instead of taking the hike. I do hope to make it back some day soon to see the town - and hopefully before any more falls off! Once we arrived back in Orvieto, we were free for the evening. I had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed some more gelato before calling it a night. Click the pictures below to enlarge. |