Pisa, Florence, Orvieto & Rome: Part Three
I had never heard of Orvieto before the Korean mentioned it, which surprised me because it is one of the most dramatically oriented cities in Europe. Built on a large butte of volcanic ‘tuff' rock, the city afforded its ancient occupants supreme protection from their enemies. Today, it has many a tourist wheezing as they trudge to the top.
Orvieto, 325m
We arrived on an unreserved train from Florence, by which time the central Italian weather had turned murky and wet again. But the view of Orvieto was undiminished by the drizzle that greeted us.
We soon found a wizened old lady who ran a guest house at the foot of the city; she was delighted to give us rooms for the night.
It was afternoon by the time we settled in and we both had to get to Rome the next day, so the race was on for some high-speed sightseeing.
However, despite our quest for fast-culture, we chose to hike up the steep incline to the ancient city centre – instead of taking the funicular (cable car).
Protected by trusty cagoules, we braved several Tuscan showers in what was a tough climb, but not nearly as tough as would-be invaders of Orvieto would have experienced.
As such an easily defensible site it's not surprising that so many groups have occupied (or tried to occupy) Orvieto; from the Etruscans to the Romans, from the Goths to the Lombards, everyone seems to have had a crack at this lofty city.
Orvieto, Italy
Exploring on Foot
Unless you're feeling particularly unfit (in which case a bus tour is a good option), the best way to explore Orveito is on foot.
Streets of Orvieto, Italy
Walking, you'll eventually reach the Piazza della Repubblica and the beautiful Orvieto Cathedral. The detailed architecture of this cathedral seems all the more impressive because Orvieto has such a remote feel to it (someone had to lug all this white marble up over 300 metres). However, the drizzly, cold weather may have added to this slightly barren, isolated atmosphere. Indeed, high summer must offer a very different experience.
The cathedral is also surprising because it took 300 years to complete. The results, however, were worth the effort – as least as far as our Anglo-Korean group of two was concerned.
Orvieto Cathedral, Italy
Just Me and Margarita
As night began to settle over Orvieto, we took the funicular back down to lower Orvieto and strolled the wet streets.
Then I turned to the Korean and said something like: "Why don't we go for a pizza?"
She looked at me and said something like: "I'm going to sleep."
It was then that I was left alone on the dark, rainy streets of Orvieto, with pizza on my mind. I wasn't in the mood to sit by myself in one of the empty restaurants (this was low-season February, after all), so I returned to the train station and was relatively delighted to find yet another pizza slice seller. I consumed a soggy margarita and retired to my room to watch loud, befuddling Italian TV.
I lay in bed gazing at the garish quiz show and thought about the train journey to Rome the next day, and my flight to Barcelona to visit my friend. I was glad I had gone east and then south into Italy with my Korean fellow-tourist, rather than west along the coast of the Mediterranean.
That would be a trip for another time.
Orvieto, Italy