Day 7 ~ Orvieto

This morning we said good-bye to Rome and made our way to Florence.  En route, we stopped in the ancient city of Orvieto. In 700 BC, the area was settled by the Etruscans; but in the late 4th century BC, it was assimilated into the Roman Republic. Because of its site on a high, steep bluff of volcanic rock, the city was virtually impregnable allowing it to control the road between Florence and Rome during the Middle Ages. During the thirteenth century, the city became one of the major cultural centers of its time when Thomas Aquinas taught at the studium there. Through the years, It was a very important area to the popes, remaining a papal possession until 1860 when it was annexed to unified Italy.

The Gothic façade of the Orvieto Cathedral (Duomo of Orvieto) is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Late Middle Ages.

The construction of the Albornoz Fortress started in the mid 1300’s. Its aim was to provide the church a secure site in the city and allow the cardinal and his captains to consolidate recent military victories. After the sack of Rome at the end of 1527, Pope Clement VII took refuge in Orvieto.  Below is an entrance into the fortress.

There was a beautiful view from the fortress walls to the valley below. 

The empty nave seemed to beg for fun picture of the two of us.