Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org
If you are into attractive Gothic cathedrals Orvieto is the place for you. Its Duomo (main cathedral) took over three hundred years to build and the painstaking effort paid off big for this former Etruscan stronghold.
There are at least two Etruscan necropli (fancy word for ancient graveyard) where you can practice your Etruscan by reading the names above the doorframes of the burial chambers.
Want to see what a real Etruscan looked like? Check out the Museum of the Opera del Duomo where a typical Etruscan citizen is depicted in a well preserved fresco.
I don’t know if Etruscan wells are different from modern ones but you can decide for yourself while viewing the Pozzo (Italian for “well”)….
The train will drop you in the plain below the city and unless you are acrophobic (acrophobia is, of course, fear of heights) you’ll enjoy the ride up the funicular to the old city.
Other attractions in Orvieto include the twelve sided bell tower, the Rocca and, according to some visitors, Italy’s finest cuisine.
Umbria boasts specialty cheeses made of sheep’s milk, variously flavored with white truffles, black truffles,walnuts, local wine, black pepper and hot peppers.
If you like rare fungus Umbria is the place for you as here you will find some of Europe’s finest truffles of both the black and the rarer white variety. Truffles are potato shaped mushrooms that grow in the ground near the roots of deciduous trees. Some say they have a mild garlic like flavor.
Fresh carp, trout, perch and eel from nearby Lake Trasimeno are an important local cuisine.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org
Speaking of local cuisine there is no clear consensus on which is the best local restaurant but rave reviews abound on the Internet for “Il Sette Consoli” which has been described by its fans as “memorable” “wonderful” and “my most memorable lunch in Italy”. Here are some rave reviews of Il Sette Consoli from around the world:
“We sat outside where they have open tent structures with flowing white curtains, linen table cloths, and really nice table settings. There was a waiter standing by at all times to take any requests.”
“I have dropped my rental car to train to Rome several times in Orvieto just to have lunch at I Sette Consoli.”
“…our wine was an amazing ’93 Riserva del Nocio, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It cost an amazingly low 18 euro. If you like big red wines — do this!!! Including that our meal was a total of 107 euro. We left an additional 10, the service was so professional and friendly.”
“I had fettucine with pigeon, asparagus, and black truffle; roast loin of rabbit with potatoes, sausage, and black olives; and a cheese plate of four cheeses with two marmalades.”
Il Sette Consoli
Pzza Sant’Angelo 1A
phone/fax 011 39 0763 343911
Reservations required. Closed Wednesday.
Also popular: Osteria San Patrizio
Article provided by Rex Bush, webmaster of this blog’s affiliated website: Utah-Personal-Injury-Attorney.com. Click here Utah Injury Attorney to access articles on injury law.
Salt Lake City personal injury attorney Rex Bush spent two years in Italy back in the 70s and continues to explore his love for that land by returning often, continuing to study Italian to maintain fluency and by reading and writing about “Lo Stivale” (the boot).
