ORVIETO, ITALIA

June 7
We headed to Orvieto after our 24 hour stint in Rome. It was along our route home and we had heard wonderful things about it so we thought we would walk around for a bit and enjoy a glass of local wine. Darker clouds were in the distance but we thought we had some time.

We arrived in the new-town and drove to the parking lot at the base of the old-town. There are also cable cars that can take you to the base of the old-town if you prefer to leave your car at a different location or if you are arriving from the new-town. We had Reesey and didn't want to muzzle her if we didn't need to, so we opted to drive. 

Orvieto is one of the prettiest hill towns, in my opinion. It is about an hour and twenty minutes from Rome and sits high above the valley looking out over the vineyards and Umbrian plains. We spent our time in the old-town, which is where anyone visiting the city should explore. 

Our main focus was visiting the Cathedral. We lackadaisically made our way through the cobblestone streets and medieval piazzas until we reached our destination. The Gothic facade of Orvieto's Cathedral is beautiful, filled with mosaics, stained glass and sculptures. Another must see is the Chapel of San Brizio, which has frescoes of the Day of Judgement and Life after Death. 

The rain was coming!

We did not have much time, so we explored the area, including a quick trip to the edge to take some photos of the surrounding plains, and then made our way to try some of the delicious Classico vino. Rain slowly started to fall on the umbrella over our table. The rain turned into hail, which Reesey enjoyed snacking on, and then a monsoon like rain began. We still had about four hours before we would reach Vicenza, so after waiting for about an hour we trudged through the rain and hail to our car. Luckily the five bottles of wine didn't fall from their cardboard cases. The three of us, dripping wet, then made our way back home. 

One wet dog!

It was a great visit but I wish we had more time to explore the other sights and maybe do a tasting at a vineyard. Other things worth seeing are Palazzi Papali, the marble Mary and Child, The Etruscan-era caves and tunnels below the town, and St. Patrick's Well. The tourist office has a pretty nice map of the town.