Cathedral facade
Golden mosaics.
Chensiyuan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Andrew Parlette from Elkridge,MD, US — CC BY 2.0 · Andrew Parlette — CC BY 4.0 · Mongolo1984 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mongolo1984 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Orvieto is a city in southwest Umbria, central Italy, standing on the flat top of a large butte of volcanic tuff, about 96 km north of Rome and 136 km southeast of Florence in a straight line. Its name comes from the Latin for «old city», to set it apart from the new Volsinii that the Romans founded elsewhere. Before that an Etruscan city stood here, one of the most prosperous in Etruria, as its ancient cemeteries show. Caves and cellars carved into the tuff still lie beneath the city. The city rises above almost vertical tuff cliffs, topped by walls built of the same stone, so from the plain it looks like a fortress hanging in the air. Above its brown roofs rises the Gothic cathedral facade, covered in golden coloured mosaics, with green hills and vineyards all around. Visitors ride a funicular up from the station on the plain, wander the stone lanes, stand before the cathedral facade and take tours of the underground caves. It makes an easy day trip from Rome by train, and evenings on the walls are lovely.
Golden mosaics.
Guided tours.
Views over the plain.
Orvieto, Terni, Umbria, central Italy
Yes, from Rome by train.
By funicular from the station.