Orvieto - A Medieval Experience by Richelle Mehlhaff

[A view of Orvieto (and the Duomo Cathedral) from the clock tower]

On Friday we left for an overnight trip to Orvieto, a Medieval hill town outside of Rome. We took the train for about an hour which dropped us off just outside the walls of the town. When we arrived we had to take the Funicolare, a kind of tram, up a steep hill into town.

[Amy, Jess, Julie, Heather, Marco and Nicolette wait outside the tracks of the Funicolare leading up to Orvieto!]

The first thing we saw when we got into the heart of Orvieto was the incredible gothic Cathedral, called the Duomo.
[The facade of the Duomo, containing amazing mosaics and marble friezes]

Besides the gleaming mosaics on the front of the Duomo, one of the most interesting aspects of this church is the alternating white (travertine) and black-basalt stones used to construct the walls. This was a common decorative trait for churches in southern Italy.

[The group with a side view of the Duomo showing the alternating Travertine and Black -Basalt local stone.]
The Duomo was built in the late 13th century, and contains the 15th century frescoes by Luca Signorelli called the Last Judgement. This set of frescoes covers three walls in the Chapel of San Brizio inside the Duomo. We studied pictures of these frecoes with Lisa on Thursday, it was really impressive to see them in person.

Exploring the city gave us beautiful views of the Italian countryside.
[Bryan, Reed, Cami, and Matt contemplate life in the hills of Italy]

Orvieto, which is built on top of a porous volcanic rock, has an extensive underground system of tunnels which the Midieval inhabitants used to escape from the elevated city if it was under siege. There are usually tours of the underground, but not during the winter season.


Another interesting site in Orvieto is the well of St. Patrick. Though we did not visit the well as a group, a few brave souls discovered that contrary to popular belief, the well was indeed open! The well is 62 meters (203 feet) deep, with a double spiral staircase all the way to a bridge at the bottom of the well. Pope Clement the VII built the well in 1527 when he took refuge in Orvieto, and feared that his pursuers would take over the city’s external water supply.
[Matt, Bryan, Marco, and Heather in the Well of St. Patrick (picture taken by Reed)]

Before we left Orvieto on Saturday we climbed to the top of the clock tower and got a stunning view of the city, check out this video and hear the clock chime in the background!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv5EmLU_A5U
After climbing so many stairs (the clock tower, and the well) everyone was glad to come home to Rome and rest for a day before class started up again.

[Cami and Jenna bravely look over the wall of the city into the fog and cliffs below]

CIAO!