Orvieto
 

As a person who knows nothing about this town, i have been reading posts from many poeple on how much they have enjoyed this place? where is it in relation to the larger cities? and why should i consider going there?<BR><BR>thanks.

Orvieto is not too far from Rome in Umbria and has one of the nicest duomos -- unfortunately the front is covered by scaffolding now so it depends on when you are going. It is also a very nice older city to enjoy.

Karen, how recently were you there, and do you know how long the scaffolding will be up? We'll be there in 3 weeks. Shades of our pre-Jubilee days in Rome in late 1999!

Last week the scaffolding was still up.

Thery're doing a big restoration and cleaning at the Duomo. It began this summer and is supposed to be over next March. That doesn't mean the scaffolding will be up the whole time, but it might!

My husband and I visited Orvieto this past April and loved the place! It's a great mid-sized town -- the atmosphere is wonderful and it's a great base for exploring the countryside. Also, it's only about a 1 hr train ride to Rome. We picked up a rental car in Florence, drove through Sienna and smaller country towns and spent two nights at the Hotel Duomo in Orvieto. It was one of the highlights of our trip! We dropped our rental car at the Orvieto train station and had a hassle-free train ride into Rome.

There is a tour of the caves underneath the town. Try to take it as it is quite delightful, and you will understand how the people in Orvieto (centuries ago) could withstand seiges that lasted for months...a very logical and simple solution. Lots of lovely arts and crafts available in this place. We really enjoyed it.

Also one of my favorites in Italy. The town is a very nice size - not a tiny village, but not a city either. And it felt like a 'real' town, not just a tourist town. Some great ceramics stores, the world's best (according to many and I agree) gelato (just across the piazza from the Duomo) and the Duomo itself is wonderful, both inside and out (well except for all that scaffolding which was just going up this past July). Also several other nice smaller churches with nice old frescoes which have not been restored. It was interesting to see the difference between those in the Duomo which have been recently restored and the others. Overall a very interesting town. And a great place to leave your car (if you have one) and take the train to Rome.

Reviewing my pictures from Sept.2001 - the Duomo outside was partly scaffolded; there were a few canvas screens in the interior nave, covering half the nave to a height of about 15 feet while restoration work was going on.<BR>It's a neat place. It's a hilltop town (what isn't in that area?) Also, go down the spiral staircase well on the edge town. If possible, take a side trip to Civita do Bagnoregio, a small hilltop village about 20km away.

I first visited Orvieto in July 2001 and the scaffolding was definitely up then, as it still was this July.<BR><BR>If you go to Bagnoreggio (a great 1/2 day trip) eat at the Hosteria del Ponte looking across at the little town on top of the crag. Gotta be one of the best views ever and the food is fab.<BR><BR>I agree that the gelato across from the Duomo is among the very best I've ever had.

We were in Orvieto in March 2002 and there was no scaffolding on the Duomo. The Duomo is truly magnificent, inside and out. Great medieval atmosphere in the back lanes of the town and we came across a market one morning full of housewives buying salami and cheeses. We were the only tourists there. The underground tour was very interesting. We found there wasn't a lot of English spoken, at our hotel, at restaurants or the train station but we got by with our phrase book and dictionary.<BR>Kay

HI,<BR><BR>Worth the trip for the Chapel of the Madonna of San Brizio, located in the duomo. There's an amazing fresco cycle by Fra Angelico and Signorelli which depicts the end of the world--the colors are still so vivid after 500 years! <BR><BR>At the opposite end of the town there's an ancient church, that was built something like 1200 years ago that I thought was pretty interesting (unfortunately I can't remeber the name.)<BR><BR>Also, if you're into the Etruscans at all there's a necropolis at the far end of the city that's worth a look.

I recommend dinner at the Tipica Trattoria Etrusca. Excellent Umbrichelli and other local specialties.

Ditto on everything everyone said! We spent 2 nights in Orvieto March 2002 (no scaffolding!). The town was not too small, nor too big. Wonderful food, wonderful wine, wonderful gelato, wonderful shops. And people were really friendly. They get their fair amount of tourists, but many come as a day-trip, so if you stay overnight you will see all the Orvietans (sp? - did I just make this word up), doing the passagiatta (sp? - evening stroll). The tour of the caves was very interesting.<BR><BR>I can highly recommend the hotel we stayed in - the Hotel Duomo - wonderful location, nice rooms, nice owners. Had great meals at La Grotte del Funaro and Duca di Orvieto.<BR><BR>Since it is so close to Rome (about 1 hour by train), it would make a nice diversion from the bigger cities, without losing too much time getting there.

Was in Orvieto last week and the scaffolding was still up but it was not blocking the scenes on the facade of the Duomo. <BR>But Orvieto isn't ONLY about the Duomo.It's about so many other things. The amazing and very unique craft items-ceramics, wood etc. - don't forget that Orvieto is home to the infamous Michalangeli.The underground cave tour. The food is amazing as well. Dinner or lunch at Hostaria Evo is definitely recommended. THE CHOCOLATE!!! The wine.<BR>It's a small old walled city with a lot of history-very interesting history- yet not as touristy as say Rothenburg in Germany. I also found that English was very widely spoken. We didn't have a problem communicating- of course never leave home without your phrase book!<BR>I disagree about the gelato. I had much better gelato in Florence and Rome than at that place across from the Duomo in Orvieto, but then maybe I went there on one of their "down" days. <BR>We also rented a car and drove down from Florence, left the car at the train station in Orvieto and trained it down to Rome. The train ride was about 1hr and the drive down from Florence was totally delightful. <BR>Orvieto is definitely worth a stay over. <BR>

Can anyone suggest an informal, inexpensive place to eat in Orvieto?<BR><BR>Several places have been list but I don't know how formal and how expensive they are<BR>Thanks

Do a search for a thread called "Orvieto Restaurant Report" which mentions several places. I think the Etruscan (mentioned above) is the most expensive and "formal" of my favorites, but still quite reasonable. Both the Fox and Grapes (Volpe y Uovo) and the Zeppelin are casual, delicious, and inexpensive. You could have a lovely meal with wine for $20 or under, depending on how many courses etc.

Antoinette,<BR><BR>There are several informal places to eat in Orvieto. Several Pizzerias and cafes can be found. Sorry can't think of the names of any off the top of my head, but you shouldn't have a problem finding inexpensive meals there.<BR>Informal isn't a problem either- this is a "tourist town" and they do know that people are on vacation and want to be informal.

Topping for a friend.

Hi David, We just returned from Italy on Wednesday and was in Orvieto and the Duomo is still being restored with scaffolding on the front and side. Lovely old town and I do recommend you visit you will enjoy. Another great walled city close by is Perugia we were there last week for the Euro chocolate festival and really loved the town, larger than Orvieto. A quote from Hawthorne describes the city well &quot;They wandered to and fro, accordingly, and lost themselves among the strange precipitate passages which, in Perugia, are called streets.&quot; IMO, One of our best stops in Umbria. A great guide book for history is the Knoff Italy book. Upon advise from a fellow fodorite we toured Villa Adriana in Tivoli (1 hour sidetrip from Rome going toward Umbria) unbelievable is this anceint ruins of a villa built by Hadrian. Have a great trip.<BR>