Orvieto, day two (and the end of the bike tour)

Tuesday was our second day (and night) in Orvieto, and as I said in closing my last post, we decided to forgo one last day of riding, and instead enjoy all that the city has to offer on foot!

As I think I mentioned before, Orvieto is a very unusual spot, in a number of ways. The fact that the ‘old city’ sits on this giant slab of ‘tuffa’ is certainly one of the most unusual, and there’s a walking path all the way around it, which affords some amazing views of the rock…

Orvieto’s rock, with the walking trail below
The walking path, far below the rock
Halfway down the trail
Halfway down the trail (Mallory for scale)
The trail below the rock, with a castle in the distance
At this point, the trail is also a road, believe it or not

It’s not surprising that this city has been here for milennia, since it’s the ultimate in defensible! So many great views too…

A huge section of the cliff, reinforced from below
It’s also fascinating how they’ve reinforced the rock over the centuries
The cliffs loom above groves of trees in places
Even though we got a fairly early start, it was nice to find some shade

In one stretch, the path merges with one of the modern roads to the top…

Mallory taking in the view
Mallory takes in the view
Amazing stone walls, added to the top and bottom of the rock
Amazing stone walls, added to the top and bottom of the rock
Lawn, path, rock, and battlements
It makes for a beautiful combination of features!
Another view of the lawn, rock, and defenses atop the rock
So beautiful, right?

Then the path drops below the road again…

Man-made wall joins ancient rock
Wall and rock combo
Little rose garden below the rock

A bit further along, a little rose garden below the rock

Another lovely grove of trees along the path
Another lovely grove of trees along the path
A couple of humble pilgrims find a bench beneath the rock
A couple of humble pilgrims find a bench below the rock. ❤️

About halfway around the perimeter of the rock, we came back up to explore the city a little more. First, we found the Palazzo del Popolo, the palace that the Pope lived in for quite awhile in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Palazzo del Popolo
Palazzo del Popolo, aka the home of the “Captain of the People”

Then it was on to take another look at the incredible cathedral (its stature also coming at least partially from the Pope favoring Orvieto in in those days)…

The Duomo of Orvieto
Orvieto’s ‘Duomo’ kind of jumps out at you from the side streets
Orvieto cathedral facade looming over you
The main facade is really something!
Mosaic column detail
So much astounding inlaid mosaic (all the imagery on the facade is mosaic)
Striped side of the cathedral
The stripes are alternating travertine marble and black basalt!
Raptor soaring over the cathedral at midday
Even caught a raptor soaring over the cathedral

Lastly, I have some final highlight images from Orvieto. A festively decorated little alley, the Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick’s Well), and yet another sunset shot…

Colorfully decorated alleyway
I don’t know what the yellow/red theme was about…
Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick’s Well)
The well is built with a double-helix of ramps, so mules could go up and down at the same time!
A view across the well at the paths going up and down

Can you picture how the double-helix works?

Looking up the well from almost the whole way down
Looking up from almost the whole way down (250 steps in each direction)
Looking down the well from about halfway

Looking down the well from about halfway (see Mallory on the other side?)

Sunset from near the well
Another gorgeous Italian sunset, from the lookout near the well

The well is a result of the infighting and strife that plagued Orvieto for centuries. It was built between 1527-1537, on the order of Pope Clement VII, who had taken refuge in Orvieto during the “sacking of Rome” in 1527 by Charles V, in order to guarantee the town would always have water. The architect-engineer Antonio da Sangallo the Younger surrounded the central well shaft with two spiral ramps in a double helix, accessed by separate doors on opposite sides of the well, so that trains of mules could move up and down simultaneously, one side with empty vessels headed down, the other with full vessels headed up. Brilliant!

Author: John Clark

Computer consultant/glass artist, living in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado.