Heading south - Orvieto

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Orvieto is one stop south on the Autostrada (motorway) from Fabro (the exit for Il Nido). See also Where is il Nido? It takes 35 to 45 minutes to drive there.

The train from Fabro takes about 15 minutes and from the station in Orvieto there is a regular connection by bus or on the funicolare (funicular railway) to the historic city centre at the top of the tufa outcrop.

Orvieto is a stunning mediaeval city famous for its cathedral, townscape, well and many other interesting buildings. There is an Etruscan necropolis below the town and Etruscan objects in the town museum but the Chiusi museum has a better collection. The city really flowered in the mediaeval period.

The facade of the Duomo (cathedral) of Orvieto.

More detail of the facade showing some of the mosaics and the four carved panels of the history of the world from creation to the last judgement.

A panel of the Luca Signorelli frescos in the Duomo.

Another panel in the fresco cycle.

The Pozzo of S. Patrizio (The well of St. Patrick) - an extraordinary double helix that provided separate down and up paths for donkeys collecting water for the mediaeval city.

Mediaeval street.

Etruscan tombs below the city.

These are only a few of the interesting sight in Orvieto. There are many other interesting churches, there is an abbey below the city (now converted into a hotel and restaurant). The Palazzo del Popolo is the former residence of the town governor and a large market is held every Thursday and Saturday mornings in the piazza in front of the palace.

Beyond Orvieto

Continuing south, one turns left up the Tiber gorge which has now been largely flooded to form Lake Corbara. Another 30 minute and you come to Todi, one of the famous hill top towns of Umbria. We suggest you park outside the old city walls and walk up the hill into the piazza.

Alternatively from Orvieto one can head west to Lake Bolsena and the town of Bolsena.