Orvieto |
| The site of Orvieto is among the most dramatic in Europe, rising above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are completed by defensive walls built of the same stone. Located on a plateau of volcanic tuff, the impressive city of Orvieto is surrounded by a stupendous landscape of fields and vineyards; the unbreachable walls appear to encircle the city rather than elevate it, as though it were a fortress rising on the flat valley floor of the river Paglia. Orvieto still preserves its charming Medieval character, thanks to its location, to its Etruscan roots and to its celebrated Cathedral. Orvieto flourished in the Middle Ages when it became a powerful Comune. The majestic monuments of this period include the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, the Torre del Moro and the Torre di Maurizio, at one corner of Piazza del Duomo. But Orvieto is known above all for its Duomo (Cathedral), this incredible example of Italian Gothic architecture. The cathedral houses many works of art, with pride of place going to the San Brizio chapel and Luca Signorelli's frescoes of the End of the World (1499-1504). |
 Orvieto, Duomo |
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From the top of the 47 meter high Torre del Moro, the eye can range over the roofs of the entire city to the towns and castles in the territory of Orvieto. The tower known as Torre del Papa is almost perfectly aligned with the four points of the compass. In the 16th century the Torre was renamed del Moro, almost certainly after Raffaele di Sante, known as 'il Moro', who gave his name to Palazzo Gualtiero beneath and to the entire quarter. Orvieto’s Gothic cathedral, which is one of the most celebrated in Italy, was begun in 1290 to commemorate the miracle at Bolsena, a town situated just to the southwest, where in 1263 a priest witnessed the miraculous appearance of drops of blood on a Host that he was consecrating. A large silver shrine in the Cappella del Corporale contains the Holy Corporal (linen altar cloth) from Bolsena. The cathedral's west facade, a fine polychrome monument of richly sculptured marble, is divided into three gables with intervening pinnacles. The interior of the building is richly decorated with the work of a number of medieval sculptors and painters, notably the frescoes by Luca Signorelli and Fra Angelico in the Cappella Nuova. |
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Traces from Etruscan, medieval, Renaissance and other periods all blend into an urban whole, rising from which are the great Gothic Duomo, or Cathedral, the Papal Palaces and the 13thcentury Palazzo del Popolo, or Town Hall. With excellent art and archeological museums, a wealth of religious and civic architecture of the first order, paintings and sculptures of fundamental importance to Italian art history, and an excellent craft tradition, Orvieto is an essential stop on any travel itinerary in Umbria. |
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| The Duomo of Orvieto is one of the most important examples of Gothic architecture in Italy. The facade, a great triptych built by Lorenzo Maitani in the first years of the 14th century, is richly decorated in a dazzling mixture of polychrome marble, sculptures and mosaics, is certainly the prime masterpiece of Italian decorative Gothic. The middle entrance of the Duomo and the central rose window were designed by Andrea Orgagna in the 14th century. The interior is partly Romanesque in style, whereas the presbyterium is Gothic. Inside the cathedral, the Chapel of San Brizio is frescoed by Fra Angelico and with Luca Signorelli's masterpiece, his Last Judgment and the magnificent bronze portals. The Cappella Nuova is one of the best known masterpieces of Renaissance Italian art. The chapel is set on the right wing of the Dome's transept where there were also the sacristy and a semi-cylindrical small chapel belonging to the Monaldeschi family. The chapel was built between 1406 and 1425 and Beato Angelico and Luca Signorelli worked on the decorations of the entire chapel. The small chapel of Corpi Santi portrays an entirely different atmosphere that reigned during the vigil over Christ's body. Signorelli also painted an exquisite portrait of himself and his fellow artist, Fra Angelico, who was renowned for his artistic genius and his utter Christian devotion. These two portraits are seen on the wall featuring the stories of the Antichrist. [read more] Duomo | Free, open April-Sept daily 7:30-12:45 & 14:30-19:15; March and Oct closes at 18:15, Nov-Feb at 17:15. Chapel of St. Brizio | €5 (includes the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo), open Mon-Sat 9:00-12:45 & 14:30-19:00, Sun 13:30-18:30 (closes one hour earlier in winter). Buy your ticket at the chapel or at the TI in Piazza del Duomo. |
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Chapel of the Corporal The Cappella del Corporale lies on the north side of the main crossing. It was built between 1350 and 1356 to house the stained corporal of the miracle of Bolsena. It is from this chapel that the reliquary with the corporal is transported for religious processions through the town on feast days. |
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| Fondazione Museo Claudio Faina | Archaeological Museum The Museo Faina contains one of Italy’s finest archaeological collections, brought together by two aristocrats, Mauro and Eugenio Faina, who from 1864 went personally on digs and acquired items on the open market. Located in Palazzo Faina, the Museo Claudio Faina is directly opposite the Duomo and extends on two floors of the building. Archaeological Museum Piazza del Duomo, 29 |
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| Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo | ||
| A short distance north of the Torre del Moro in Orvieto is the Piazza del Capitano del Popolo (markets held on Thursdays and Saturdays), with the 11th century Palazzo del Popolo, built in volcanic tufa stone. The original Palazzo del Capitano was a single ground floor loggia that was used as a market place or for meetings. The stairs that led up to the loggia had originally flanked one of the perimeter walls of the previous building. A number of important buildings in Orvieto mirror certain architectural elements of this palazzo, from the bishop’s palace to the Palazzo dei Papi, as well as a number of family houses. Details such as the grandiose arches that support the ground floor of the building, or the chequered cornices of the windows, appear recurrently throughout the city. |
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The Palazzo Comunale The painted decorations in the Salone of the Palazzo Comunale were carried out between 1345 and 1347. |
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Papal Palaces. The three palaces of the popes built in the 13th century house the National Archeological Museum and the Opera del Duomo Museum, with key works of Orvieto art from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. It preserves works of Simone Martini, Luca Signorelli and Andrea Pisano's sculptures. On the ground floor is the "Emilio Greco" Museum. |
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The Palazzo Soliano of dei Papi or Papal Palace was a 13th century residence of mediaeval popes, now it houses the Museo Archeologico Nazionale with Etruscan finds from the Orvieto and The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo containing pictures by Andrea Pisano, Nicolo Nuti, Simone Martini, Ippolito Scalza and Francesco Mochi. Comune € 4.50, April-Sept daily 9:30-18:00, Oct-March Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, closed Mon, tel. 076-334-1511.
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Museo Emilo Greco € 2.50, € 5.50 includes St. Patrick's Well, open sporadically — maybe Fri–Sun 10:30–13:00 & 15:30–17:00, closed Mon–Thu, even shorter hours off-season, tel. 076-334-4605. |
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| The Palazzo del Vescovado, or former bishop’s palace, dates back to the reign of Pope Benedict VII, who gave orders for the building to be erected in 977 next to the church of Santa Maria Prisca. The rear façade of the building also contains magnificent windows that look onto the palace kitchen garden, in Via Cesare Nebbia. The fine decorative architectural details such as the capitols testify to the grand scale of the building and to the high artistic standards maintained in Orvieto in the second half of the 13th century.
Part of the palazzo houses the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, which contains the interesting Golini I and II tombs dating from the 4th century BC. |
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| Chiesa di Sant'Andrea (e Bartolomeo) | ||
| Nearby, in Piazza della Repubblica, stands the 12th-century Chiesa di Sant'Andrea and its curious decagonal bell tower. The Chiesa di Sant Andrea (Saint Andrew's Church) was once an important gathering place for Orvieto’s religious powers. Even earlier, during Etruscan times, a central temple stood here. |
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| Piazza Cahen was named for Edoardo Cahen, a Jewish banker who provided funds for the struggle to achieve a united Italy. He was made a marquis by King Umberto I in 1885. |
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Underground Orvieto Tours | Guided tours at the "Underground city", Piazza Duomo, 23 |
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Lake Corbara The road that runs around the lake from Orvieto to Todi is particularly spectacular as winds in and out of a number of wooded gorges around the course of the Tiber. The lake takes its name from the village of Corbara, in the Comune of Orvieto, which dates back to the 13th century when Andrea di Montemarte was imprisoned by the inhabitants of Todi and obliged to retire to the castle of Titignano and Corbara. Other natural reserves in the vicinity are the protected areas of Sette Frati and Villalba. They offer picnicking facilities, shelter huts and marked footpaths for walkers. Sette Frati is close to the Tiber River Park (in the Comune of San Venanzo -Tr) and covers an area of roughly 25 hectares at 800 metres above sea level, commanding unique views over the Tiber Valley. |
 Lago Corbara and Orvieto |
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Abbazia dei SS. Severo e Martirio is an old Benedictine monastery about four kilometers away from Orvieto. In 1103 Countess Matilde di Canossa built the church's dodecagon crenelated tower. |
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| Castel Viscardo, which lies 13 km from Orvieto was developed around the ancient Castello dei Duchi di Montevecchio (the Castle of the Dukes of Montevecchio). Of note, the parish Church, within which one can admire an Annunciazione di Maria and a flag of a Turkish ship, which was a war prize of an expedition of a member of the Spada family. Under the family Monaldeschi's domination, Castel Viscardo with its small but strong army, took part on the Lepanto's battle and succeded in wrenching a flag from the pennon of a Turkish ship. This trophy, twenty metres long, was carrying a half moon of massive silver on the flag-staff, was brought to Castel Viscardo. At Castel Viscardo, during the 16th Century, the production of bricks was very important: the Fornaci are an evidence of this fact, which have produced raw materials for the restoration projects of important monuments such as the Colosseo, Piazza del Campo at Siena, and others. Of the four hamlets which belong to the comune of Castel Viscardo, Monterubiaglio and Viceno both grew up around medieval fortresses. The other hamlets are Le Prese and Pianolungo . |
 Castel Viscardo |
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| Monterubiaglio is a small hilltop village, below Castel Viscardo. The name Monterubiaglio literally means red garlic mountain. Of particular interest are the old kilns right outside the inhabited center, one of the few places where hand-made bricks and tiles are still produced. Outside the walls is the church of the Madonna delle Grazie, erected in 1625 on a pre-existing chapel and, not far from the town, the ruins of the Abbey of Aqualta and the Franciscan convent of the Scarzuola together with the architectural fantasies of Tommaso Buzzi. The Franciscan Convent of the Scarzuola was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi who stayed here in a hut made of scarza or bark. Next to the convent is Tommaso Buzi’s Ideal City, an esoteric small-scale citadel, with a wealth of symbolic references, inspired by an allegorical text by Francesco Colonna. |
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Monteleone d’Orvieto is an old medieval hamlet, located between Chiusi and Orvieto. Although Monteleone has two old churches — the 17c Madonna delle Grazie and the Franciscan convent of La Scansola — the town's primary importance was as a defensive bastion at the northern edge of Orvieto's territories. More medieval defensive works can be seen at the nearby hamlet of Poggio della Croce, where some Roman tombs have also been found. |
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| Ficulle The medieval town of Ficulle is located on a ridge from which it overlooks a splendid valley with woods, badlands and flowering fields that reach up to the slopes of Mount Amiata. The town has eloquent traces of its ancient origins. The Romans had an observation post here on the Via “Traiana” (Cassia Nuova), one of the most important communication routes between Rome and the north of the peninsula. In the Middle Ages the “Castrum Ficullensis” was fortified and was frequently sacked and plundered during the long period of feudal struggles. It continued to be the most important castle of the city of Orvieto. In the twentieth century Ficulle was assigned a preeminent position in the territory of upper Orvieto and covered the role of district capital. Historical monuments The entire town is a monument, to which the two medieval fortresses, defenses for the town, and the medieval complex of Castel Maggiore bear witness. There are also fine monuments such as the old Rural Parish Church or Pieve of Santa Maria, built around 1200 with a fine Gothic portal and a few important frescoes dating to the second half of the fifteenth century. A few kilometers from the town, in the direction of Orvieto, is the Castello della Sala, once a Monaldeschi feud, a typical example of medieval architecture. The Abbey of San Nicolò al Monte Orvietano, built in 1007 by Saint Romuald, is surrounded by woods overlooking the Chiani valley. |
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Allerona is a picturesque hill town in the mountains 19 km northwest of Orvieto. |
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| Park “Selva di Meana” The Regional Park of “Selva di Meana” stretches out over an area of around 3000 hectares and includes the towns of Allerona and Castel Viscardo. The territory consists almost exclusively of woods and ranges from the Mediterranean maquis to deciduous woods, oaks and with a wealth of wild orchids. The area centers on the course of the River Paglia and its affluents, a vital artery in the system, where freshwater crayfish, the dipper and the European pond terrapin can still be found. The hidden jewel in the center of the Park is the splendid Villa Cahen, built in 1904 for the family of the Cahen bankers, in art nouveau style, surrounded by greenhouses and theme gardens. The villa is used as a study center by the Forestry Department as well as a center for university training in environmental subjects. It is to be noted that the area of Selva di Meana together with the adjacent Regional Park of Monte Rufeno (in Lazio) will soon form a single large inter-regional Park. |
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Walking in Tuscany | Walking in the surroundings of Orvieto Walking in Monte Rufeno
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| The hills between Orvieto and Città della Pieve |
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This particular route is 103 kilometres long, and given also the various climbs involved, it is only really suited to fit cyclists. For those fit enough to be able to do the ride, however, it is well worth the effort, as the itinerary is a magnificent one that touches upon important artistic towns, such as Orvieto and Città della Pieve, as well as areas of outstanding natural beauty, like the Selva di Meana (between Fabro and Allerona) and Monte Nibbio.
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| From Orvieto around Lake Corbara to Todi |
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This route across the hills around the reservoir know as Lake Corbara, touches on two world-famous towns of artistic importance, Todi and Orvieto, while also winding its way through some splendid, wild countryside. |
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Orvieto frazioni are Bagni di Orvieto, Bardano, Baschi Scalo, Benano, Biagio, Botto di Orvieto, Canale di Orvieto, Canonica, Capretta, Ciconia, Colonnetta di Prodo, Corbara, Fossatello, Morrano, Orvieto Scalo, Osteria Nuova, Padella, Prodo, Rocca Ripesena, San Faustino, Sferracavallo, Stazione di Castiglione, Sugano, Titignano, Tordimonte and Torre San Severo.
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Comuni in the Province de Terni, in southern Umbria | Acquasparta · Allerona · Alviano · Amelia · Arrone · Attigliano · Avigliano Umbro · Baschi · Calvi dell'Umbria · Castel Giorgio · Castel Viscardo · Fabro · Ferentillo · Ficulle · Giove · Guardea · Lugnano in Teverina · Montecastrilli · Montecchio · Montefranco · Montegabbione · Monteleone d'Orvieto · Narni · Orvieto · Otricoli · Parrano · Penna in Teverina · Polino · Porano · San Gemini · San Venanzo · Stroncone · Terni |
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San Brizio Chapel in Orvieto Cathedral |
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| San Brizio chapel was built at the beginning of the 15th century on the place of sacristy of the Orvieto Cathedral. The decoration of the chapel started in 1447 by Fra Angelico and Benozzo Gozzoli, who executed two compositions (Christ the Judge and Prophets) on the vaults. The commission was only revived at the end of the century. The painter Luca Signorelli was chosen thanks to his fame as a fast executor. Indeed, starting the work in April-May 1499 he finished it already in 1502. His massive frescoes of the Last Judgment (1499–1503) in Orvieto Cathedral are considered his masterpiece. In the grand and dramatic scenes, inspired by the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Luca Signorelli displayed a mastery of the nude in a wide variety of poses surpassed at that time only by Michelangelo. [read more]
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 Luca Signorelli, Resurrection of the Flesh (detail), fresco in the Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto |
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| Fifty-two years before, in 1447, Fra Angelico had spent three months and a half in this Cathedral of Orvieto, painting the spandrels in the roof of the Cappella Nuova, as it was then called. He had time to complete only two frescoes. In the principal space, that over the altar, he painted Christ in glory, surrounded by a mandorla, with angels on either side, and in the spandrel on the right, a group of sixteen prophets, seated pyramidally against a blaze of gold background. It is probable that he had thought out the general scheme of the frescoes, and that Signorelli only carried out his intention in working the paintings into one great whole — Christ in Heaven, surrounded by Angels, Apostles, Martyrs, Virgins, Patriarchs and Fathers of the Church, witnessing from on high the execution of divine justice below. However that may be, it is certain that Signorelli, in his painting of the roof, kept most scrupulously to the older master's arrangement, and in one of the spandrels actually seems to have worked over his design. After the withdrawal of Fra Angelico, the chapel remained untouched for more than fifty years. In 1449 his pupil, Benozzo Gozzoli, who had probably been his assistant in the painting, demanded permission to continue the work; but the authorities were not content to grant it, and it was only in 1499, after some futile negotiations with Perugino, who appears to have refused the commission, that they finally resolved to place the decoration in the hands of Luca Signorelli. Perhaps decided to this step by the success of the Monte Oliveto frescoes, they were yet so cautious and so determined to have only the very best work in their chapel, that at first they only entrusted to him the painting of the vaulting, already begun. They were wise to be careful in their choice, for they were probably conscious of the extreme beauty of their cathedral, and, in particular, of the exquisite architecture of this chapel. Orvieto Cathedral is one of the finest and most impressive of the Italian churches, and from its foundation in 1290, the authorities had been notoriously lavish in their expenditure for its building, and fastidious in their choice of architects, sculptors, and painters. From the point of view merely of decoration, they could have given the work to no better artist than Signorelli, and the first impression, on passing into the chapel from the austere and spacious nave, is of the harmonious plan, both of colour and design, with which the original beauty of the architecture has been enhanced, and its graceful characteristics accentuated. The roof is of very perfect shape, and the spaces well adapted for painting. It is divided in the middle by an arch, thus having two complete vaultings, each with four spandrels. The walls are high and spacious, also divided in two parts, in each of which, on either side, is a large fresco. Signorelli has separated the lower part of the wall by a painted frieze of delicate gold and ivory, and in the lower half executed a series of portraits, each surrounded by medallions in grisaille, containing small subject-pictures, the rest of the space being filled with an intricate pattern of grotesques. The south wall, in which are three small windows, has been unfortunately disfigured by a baroque seventeenth-century altar, whose projections hide a part of the frescoes. Opposite is the entrance, a magnificently-proportioned portal, with a rounded arch, most delicately decorated in colour. Every inch of the walls is covered, and for the most part by the work of Signorelli himself, the above-mentioned grotesques, the merely ornamental painting, and a few of the medallions alone being by his assistants. In the spandrel opposite the Christ of Fra Angelico, Signorelli has painted eight angels holding the symbols of the Passion, while two others, not unlike the great Archangels of the "Resurrection," blow trumpets to announce the impending Judgment. Left of the altar, opposite Fra Angelico's "Prophets," and arranged in exactly the same pyramidal form, is a magnificent group, representing the "Apostles," the Virgin being seated on the lowest tier with S. Peter and S. Paul. Very noble, impressive figures, powerfully and solidly painted, with broadly-draped, heavy-folded robes, they sit like rocks upon clouds as solid as hills. These, with the two frescoes of Fra Angelico, complete the paintings of the first vaulting. Those on the other side of the arch are executed entirely by Signorelli, and, with the exception of one, from his own designs. This one is the weakest of his roof-paintings in execution, and the composition and actual drawing of the central figures, are the work of Fra Angelico. It represents the "Choir of Martyrs," a group of seven figures. In the centre are seated three Deacons in full canonicals, with Bishops on either side, and below two Saints in plain robes. These last have all Signorelli's characteristics of drawing, and sit with wide-spread knees and broadly-painted draperies, a striking contrast to the weak attitudes and niggling robes of the central group. Signorelli has indeed hardly altered the childish chubby features of the Deacon in the middle, nor the benevolent vacuity of the two Bishops, so different to his own austere types. Opposite to this, over the portal, is a group of eight "Virgins," broadly and vigorously treated, in Signorelli's boldest manner. To the right is another of the pyramidal groups, fifteen "Doctors of the Church," some of whom are represented disputing and discussing points of theology. The last of the roof-paintings is a powerful group of "Patriarchs," ranking, with that of the "Apostles," among the most impressive of the frescoes. Here appear many of his well-known types of face; the melancholy features of Pan are repeated in the turbaned youth in the top row, intended perhaps to be Solomon; the Christ of the Uffizi "Holy Family" is in the second tier to the left; the powerful Zacharias from the Berlin Tondo in the lowest. The figures, with the exception of those by Fra Angelico, and the design for the "Martyrs," are entirely the work of Signorelli himself. The decorations between the spaces seem to be in part by the assistant of Fra Angelico—perhaps Benozzo Gozzoli. In the first border heads are painted, in lozenges, at regular intervals, a few of which are in the older master's style, while many show the manner of Signorelli. The rounded projecting rib is painted with foliage of cypress-green, with here and there rich red and golden flowers gleaming out, and on either side a border of conventionalised water-lilies. It is difficult to say which of the masters designed this exceedingly beautiful decoration, but it is most effective, and well-calculated to accentuate the life of the fine curves in the vaulting. |
 On the wall featuring stories of the Antichrist, Signorelli painted an exquisite portrait of himself (left) and his fellow artist Fra' Angelico. |
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* Etrusca - Via Maitani 10, Orvieto - Truffles, mushrooms - Wine cellar 60 places 0763 - 344016
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| D.O.C. Orvieto The production area of Orvieto D.O.C. includes the mostly hillside territories of Orvieto, Allerona, Alviano, Baschi, Castel Giorgio, Castel Viscardo, Fabro, Ficulle, Guardea, Montecchio, Montegabbione, Monteleone d’Orvieto, Porano and a part of Viterbo territory in Lazio. It is among the more representative Umbrian wines, known since ancient times, and covers about 70% of the D.O.C. production of the Province of Terni. |
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Wine tasting |
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This page uses material from the Wikipedia articles Orvieto and Orvieto DOC published under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
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