A Day Out in Orvieto

Tricia and I spent the day in Orvieto yesterday, and what a day it was!  We toodled along the curvy road in my darling little macchinina, enjoying each other's company and sharing stories and sunshine.

When we arrived, we were in the mood for a cappuccino.  So off we set on our first mission.  Interestingly, all the bars appeared to have tucked their skirts in and fled...there was nary a one in sight. Churches, however, were thick on the ground -- clearly calling for a change of plan.

We wandered up one of the larger streets, finding lots of closed shops, clothes shops, and kitchen ware.  They were just tempting us.  We even found a bread shop, raising our hopes until they were dashed (to the accompaniment of an intoxicating perfume of fresh bread) by the lack of a coffee maker.

And then we got picky.  We needed coffee at a bar with a bathroom.  No longer would any likely-looking place do.  Finally, we found the place.  It was actually rather large, but had the added inducement of selling all types of artisan chocolates.  Meaning Michael would get a souvenir so he could remember the trip he didn't get to enjoy.

Whew!  That mission accomplished, it was time to go to the cathedral -- one of the two reasons we were there in the first place.  We arrived twenty minutes before the pausa and five minutes before my parking pass was due to expire (I know, poor planning on my part, but for some reason I'd misread the sign & didn't realize it until it was too late & I'd purchased the dratted thing).  We had time to mutter two "ohs" and one "aaah" and then had to dash to the parking lot.

Looking down into the well.  It's much further down than it looks!

Fortune smiled on us, since the other main goal of this trip was to see the pozzo.  The pozzo is a well dug in the 1500s as a water source for the city in the event of siege.  And from whence came the fear of siege, you ask?  Well, the pope of the time thought that it likely that the Roman forces would try to oust him & he'd have to take refuge.  Orvieto looked like a right good place to him, so he figured he'd prepare the city for his protection.  Since all it lacked was water, digging a well was the obvious thing to do.

The view from the bottom

Tricia on guard

And here's where the fun begins: it's actually a cylinder within a cylinder.  The well is in the center, and the space between the inside & outside cylinders is taken up by a staircase.  Boring, you say?  Well, think again: it's not just any old staircase with 280 steps.  It's actually a steeply inclining double helical staircase.  This meant that donkeys (with water jars) could go down one staircase and up the other, allowing them not to meet asses going the wrong direction.  Good plan, no?  It was actually fascinating how quickly we went as we chatted, not realizing how steep the descent actually was.  Holes carved in the walls provided light and regular access to see our progress.

Once we made it up and I extricated myself from the ratcheted exit door that had designs on my purse, we wandered happily around the park that was the remains of the local fortress.  Beautiful views and a lovely tranquil spot.  Back to get lunch at a local spot (delicious, by the way), and time to see the cathedral for real.

After much admiration, home to Todi!

Love,

Alexandra