Here is a view from the east side of town looking south along the face of the cliff. Orvieto must have been an ideal place to be in case of attack.
This is the little town in which you'll find the train station. From there it is a short walk to the funicular railway. This was a great vantage point from which to observe the high-speed trains as they flew by.
In the center of town, towards the south, you'll find the Orvieto Cathedral. I thought it was interesting that such a small town would have such a big church (although this is far from unusual in Italy), but I found out that it was built under the orders of Pope Urban IV to provide a suitable home for the remnants of a miracle that happened in the area in 1263. Oh, it's probably also because Orvieto was home to one of the few papal palaces outside of Rome. From the 11th century the popes tended to move around and stay for a time in the bishop's palaces of cities around the Papal States. But the pope actually built his own palace here. Some popes also took refuge here from time to time, like when Charles V was sacking Rome.
The facade of the church is very impressive, especially with parts of it being in a brilliant gold, and its rose window.
Here's the inside. Sarah said that we had to go to the chapel on the right, towards the front of the church. There was a charge, so I almost declined. But I'm glad I didn't. I don't know if it was worth what they charged but it was interesting. It was begun by Fra Angelico and Benozzo Gozzoli, but they only painted two parts. Most of the chapel was painted by Luca Signorelli.
The Resurrection of the Flesh. Lots of naked people climbing out of their graves.
The Damned are taken to Hell and received by Demons.
Above the entrance there are flying robots or something shooting lasers at people. Not a common site.
And finally is the best scene, the one that Sarah had told me about. The Preaching of the Antichrist. The Antichrist is shown looking like Christ, but with the devil whispering to him. The picture supposedly might show Raphael, Dante, Christopher Columbus, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Cesare Borgia, Fra Angelico, and the painter himself. I don't know if that's true. But the best part about it is the upper right where there appear to be ninjas fighting. There is nothing better than seeing ninjas in Renaissance paintings.
Looking from the south of town there were more beautiful views.
And more. Including...
My future home/castle! I want it.
Sarah dumped me for one of the locals.
Just a view of the road below.
Sarah imagines that she's on the Titanic.
Once it started to get too dark to take any more pictures we took the funicular rail back down, got on another train, and headed south to Rome.
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