top of page
Orvieto

Day 5

  •  Deruta

    • Gialletti Giulio Ceramics

  • Tenuta Le Velette​

    • Lunch and Wine tasting​

  • Check into hotel Filippeschi

  • Walk to Orvieto Duomo 

  • Dinner on our own

Day 6

  • Free morning-Market shopping

  • Lunch together on the ancient wall 

  • Civita di Bagnoregio

  • Dinner on own in Orvieto

The first stop of day 5 was Deruta, where we visited the ceramics factory and shop of Ceramiche Gialetti Giulio.  The vibrant colors of the ceramics welcomed visitors into the shop.  The group followed Tricia through the store and into the factory area where we were shown the many steps it takes to produce the beautiful pieces of art.  The blocks of clay from the River Tiber were stacked patiently waiting to be worked into plates, bowls, cups, vases, tabletops, and so much more.  Mauro demonstrated his masterful way of working the clay on the wheel.  The pieces are fired, glazed and then given to artists who paint the detailed patterns on with muted colored glazes. The pieces are fired once more to bring the colors alive.

We were given time to shop and purchase items if we were interested.  Tricia emphasized that there is never any pressure to buy items while on a Rick Steves tour.  Bryan and I did purchase some spectacularly designed pieces. The colors are so bright and wonderful and they remind me of the Italian sky and sun that we enjoyed so much.

Click first photo in each group to enlarge entire gallery

We boarded the bus and about an hour later Mario delivered us to the family owned Tenuta Le Velette winery.  The group was greeted by Cecilia, her friendly pup Ombra  (Shadow), and the sweet smell of grapes just picked from the vines.  They had arranged seating for us under a canopy created by ancient trees with a view of Orvieto that looked like it was straight from a fairy tale picturebook.  

Cecilia welcomed us and explained the history of the estate and winery.  The Etruscans, the ancient civilization of the region, were the first to produce wine on this site.  Cecilia took us through the villa's kitchen into the Etruscan cellars below the property. The family still uses these cellars that the Etruscans created in the tufo rock over 2000 years ago. Tufo rock is formed from volcanic ash and is the common stone in the Orvieto area.

The group was escorted into the tasting room, where a large table was adorned with a variety of meats, cheeses, and flatbreads.  We sampled a white, a red, and a dessert wine.  Each wine was paired with different foods to demonstrate how the flavors of both the food and the wine are enhanced when consumed together. We were able to purchase wine to take with us that day.  Many of us bought wine to take back to our hotel rooms and to share at our picnic the next day in Orvieto.

We had admired Orvieto from a distance and now we were heading into this historic town for a two-night stay.  Orvieto sits high on tufo cliffs, holding an impressive stance over the Umbrian plains.  Mario dropped us and our luggage off at the parking lot below the city and we made the climb into the city by elevator.  Once inside the medieval town, we still had a pretty steep cobblestone street to ascend before reaching our hotel.

Click  thumbnails to enlarge

Our home while in Orvieto was The Hotel Filippeschi and our tour group filled up all the rooms in this quaint hotel. The hotel's location was great, our room was comfortable, and the front desk staff was friendly.  The staff helped us make dinner reservations one night and I was so relieved.  I was willing to attempt my new Italian language skills, but I knew a phone conversation would have been even more difficult than speaking face to face, Grazie Mille Hotel Filippeschi!

web-6597.jpg

After checking into our rooms, we regrouped to walk to the Duomo for our evening tour.  Tricia wanted us to see the majestic cathedral in the evening glow. This time of the evening, the golden hour, is my favorite time of the day.  The intricate mosaics on the face of the duomo appeared to be illuminated from the inside.  

Click any photo to take a closer look

I mentioned earlier how the exteriors of St. Anthony's Basilica and the Basilica of San Vitale were deceiving as to the beauty of their interiors.  The Orvieto Duomo was very different.  The ornate exterior was giving us a preview of what awaited us inside:  striking striped arches, a colorful nave and altar, and then the splendor of the San Brizio Chapel. 

The Orvieto Duoma is my favorite chiesa (church) we visited on the tour.  They were all beautiful, but this one made a huge impression on me.  It was beautiful inside and out.  Mosaics and frescos!  I really could not get enough of them.  

Tricia taught us about Romanesque and Gothic architectural aspects of the church.  It was easy to understand why it took over 300 years to complete this massive church, yet hard to comprehend how many generations of designers, builders, workmen, and artists who lived and died while creating this beautiful cathedral. 

Choir music was playing as Tricia escorted us into the San Brizio chapel adding a theatrical touch to the experience. This chapel seems to glow.  The scenes are all from the artist Lucca Signorelli's imagination and much different than any other Christian art of the time.  Hell, demons, the resurrected rising into heaven, and the depiction of the devil himself are all illustrated in this splendid room.  

After our tour, we all went separate ways for the evening. Tricia suggested we try cinghiale  (wild boar) which is a specialty of the Orvieto region. It was early in the evening and too early by Italian standards for a full dinner, so we stopped for a light snack at a little restaurant with outside seating on the Via del Duomo.  There are many of these little osterias on the quaint cobblestone avenues.  We tried a few of the appetizers.  Everything was being made to order right inside the shop.  After our snack, we walked, checked out some of the lovely shops, and then found a restaurant for dinner.  I tried the stewed cinghiale .   The meat was tender and tasted a lot like roast beef from home.  Bryan enjoyed the pappardelle al cinghiale which was a dish of homemade pasta with a sauce of stewed boar. 

Market day in Orvieto was day 6 of our tour.  Tricia taught us un po' più di Italiano (a bit more Italian) on the bus the day before to help us purchase food at the market. We had the morning free to explore Orvieto and buy items for our group picnic lunch.  The shopping was fun and so many things to try.  Bryan and I bought gorgonzola dolce, a soft blue cheese, for the picnic.  We also bought cinghiale meat sticks and some mixed olives to snack on later. 

We had a few hours before we were all meeting up for our picnic, so Bryan and I wandered around the wonderful town of Orvieto. We had a map, but where is the fun in that?  It was an adventure to see where the next street took us.  More than a few times we headed down an alley and discovered that it abruptly ended at a house, restaurant, or little church.  We would retrace our steps and try another route.  It was a great way to spend the morning.

Eventually we worked our way back to the Duomo and discovered an antique auto show.  This car show was much like one we would find at home, but with one big, or I should I say small, difference. The cars were tiny Fiats.  We live near Detroit  where we often see shows with classic muscle cars displayed in all their glory.  Here we saw small antique Fiats all lined up splendidly in the piazza with the mighty Duomo as their back drop. Bellisimo

The group then walked to the edge of town together and arranged our market purchases on the top of the protective wall of Orvieto.  This picnic was one of my favorite meals we had together.  The food was great and it was exciting to see what each person had discovered at the market.  The meal consisted of local fruits and vegetables, a variety of olives, cheeses and salami and the local pork specialty called porchetta.  Porchetta is a moist, boneless pork roast with a crispy outer edge and it was very tasty.

Now that we were nourished and energized, it was time to leave for the Civita di Bagnoregio.  The Civita is the ancient town, founded by the Etruscans.  This village was almost destroyed by an earthquake in the 1700s. Tricia warned us that this was probably the most strenuous day of walking.  We would be walking through the modern town of Bangnorgio, down many flights of steps and then across the bridge into the Civita, then retrace all those steps to return to the bus. 

We had a few different observation points to stop and enjoy the view of the little village that continues to cling to the tufo plateau below it. The day was partly cloudy and the colors and tones of the rock would change as the sun peaked in and out of the clouds.  A few of our tour mates decided not to go, but the rest of us set off to make the climb.  We were grateful for the cloud cover which made the day cooler and the walk was easier than I had imagined.

The village is actually quite small and now has less than 10 permanent residents.  Tricia gave us about an hour to discover the town's charms and to enjoy the views from up high.  Bryan and I made a little excursion around the village and then joined Tricia on the steps of the San Donato church.  Because it was a Saturday, a lot of Italian families were also visiting the tiny town. We enjoyed watching the families out together for the day.  We headed back down to the bridge and did a buddy check at the bottom.  All of us who took the climb into the ancient city, made it back safe and sound, with smiles on our faces.

We returned to Orvieto for a free evening.  Bryan and I ate just around the corner from our hotel at a place called Velia.  I started with a crisp fresh salad and Bryan ordered a veal appetizer. The meat was sliced almost paper-thin and served with a very delicious tangy horseradish sauce. We ordered the black squid ink pasta, a pasta dish with red sauce and a bottle of Orvieto Classico for dinner.  Our table was outside and we enjoyed another beautiful evening in Italy.

bottom of page