Orvieto

On our way back to Tuscany from La Posta Vecchia we stopped for lunch in Orvieto. Orvieto is a another hilltop walled town in Umbria. This little town is very authentic, and for the most part out of the reach of most tourists passing through Tuscany. We did see a few groups of tourists, but nowhere near the mass amounts that filter through some of the more major cities like Siena, Florence and San Gimignano. Orvieto was one of Matt’s very favorite towns that we saw. He just loved it. Orvieto feels like a more authentic, untouched Florence in a lot of ways. One of the most incredible moments of our entire trip was stumbling upon Orvieto’s absolutely magnificent duomo. As we wandered through the town we literally just turned a corner and caught sight of the most intricate Duomo that we had ever seen. It is truly magnificent. Stumbling onto the Duomo in Orvieto probably compares to what it would be like to turn the corner in Florence 100’s of years ago and catch sight of the Duomo there. They are both totally awe inspiring. I think Orvieto’s Duomo is particularly striking because of the lack of fanfare that surrounds it. In Florence you can feel the energy change as you get closer to the Duomo. The crowds increase and it gets just a little bit louder as you approach. But in Orvieto, nothing alerts you to this striking building. It appears seemingly out of nowhere. If you are every in the area, then you must stop in Orvieto and see it for yourself. One of our neighbors lived in Italy for years and he said that the Duomo in Orvieto was one of his very favorite churches in all of Italy. I am so glad that we made the stop in this gorgeous, hilltop Tuscan town.