Orvieto, Italy7 Oct 2009
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Orvieto sits on these fortified cliffs
Orvieto street scene
Overlooking the Umbrian countryside
| Perched on the top of a high hill, Orvieto looms ahead and above as you approach by train. With Etruscans as its first inhabitants, it dates back to 800 B.C. The old part is on the hilltop, accessed by foot passengers by a funicular railway. The most interesting thing about Orvieto is the 1200+ man-made caves that exist under the city. They started as water well shafts dug 80 metres deep by the Etruscans and evolved over time as the earth was excavated to use as construction material for buildings. There is now a ban on all excavation for fear the city, or at least some key buildings, might collapse. We wandered through the winding lanes, and of course visited the cathedral, which has a beautifully ornate facade coupled with a rather austere interior, the result of its having taken a couple of hundred years and multiple architects to complete. |
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