It
seems as though residents of every city in medieval times were always concerned that neighboring
cities would decide to come make war on them. So, everyone was always searching for ways
to defend their city. For its defense, Orvietto chose to build on a hill that towered 1000 feet above
the valley. The hill is a form of soft volcanic rock that has been extensively
tunneled to create catacombs, wells, and escape routes beneath the city in case of long sieges.
One of the most famous aspects of Orvietto is its duomo
or cathedral. The façade is richly ornamented with carvings, mosaics, and
sculptures depicting various biblical themes and stories, ranging from
Creation to the Last Judgment. But look past the decoration at the actual
structure... The designer used a trapezoidal floor plan, narrowing toward the
altar, to make the interior look much deeper than it really is!
The
other thing that Orvietto is known for is its ceramics and pottery. Don't worry
about its size and weight because they ship it directly to your home!
Open markets are often colorful and fun to browse, and that is certainly true in Orvietto.
Lisa: While I browsed through the market and shopped for pottery, Glen remained behind to spend the day lazing around the pool at our Agritourismo hotel, writing, talking, and enjoying the Umbrian view.
Small farms have suffered world-wide with the growth of
agribusiness. Because Italy especially values rural life and local produce from
local farms, it instituted Agriturismo
laws that define the business of combining
farming and
tourism, and help encourage
the local working
farms that also cater to tourists. Agritur-ismos must be a working agricultural business
and use a certain portion of their own product for their tourism aspect, such as
preparing meals with locally grown vegetables, serving locally made wines and
cheeses, etc. The agriturismo where we stayed specialized in wines and olive
oil. After touring their wine production, we sat
d
own for an educational tasting
session amidst a crystal forest of wine glasses. (Glen: If you are ever at a
loss for words when asked to taste a white wine, Karin had told us to just ask, "Is that a hint of
apple that I detect?" For a red wine, you might fall back on, "Ah, you can taste
the flavor of red fruit." Knowing virtually nothing about wine, I tried
this with our host and he lauded me to the group, saying I obviously had a
discerning palate!)
After consuming a healthy amount of Umbrian wine, Karin had us play the "liar" game. By this time she knew our group fairly well and knew this would be an interesting way to learn more about one another, not to mention being an outrageously funny activity. She previously had each of us secretly write down three things about ourselves that few others would guess or believe. After selecting several of the best revelations, she matched up two other potential group members for each story. All three people came forward and the story was read. The rest of the group then quizzed the three about the story in an effort to determine who was the "guilty" party and who were the liars. Of course, all three had to do their best to convince everyone that the story was actually about them (even though the two "ringers" first learn the details at the time the story is read to everyone else!). We had a blast!
Jack, Vik, Glen. Who will ever know which really bit off the sheeps’ testicles with their teeth?!
Jack, Vik, Glen. We'd all believe nearly anything about Jack
or Glen, but Vik?!
Click below to watch Umbria (Orvietto and Agriturismo) (5:02)
