Orvieto
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Orvieto is a city in southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tufa. The site of the city is among the most dramatic in Europe, rising above the almost-vertical faces of tufa cliffs that are completed by defensive walls built of the same stone.
History
The Etruscans
The ancient city (urbs vetus in Latin, whence "Orvieto"), populated since Etruscan times, has usually been associated with Etruscan Velzna, but some modern scholars differ. Orvieto was certainly a major center of Etruscan civilization; the Archaeological Museum (Museo Claudio Faina e Museo Civico) houses some of the Etruscan artifacts that have been recovered there. An interesting remain that might show the complexity of ethnic relations in ancient Italy and how such relations could be peaceful, is the inscription on a tomb in the Orvieto Cannicella necropolis: mi aviles katacinas, "I am of Avile Katacina", with an Etruscan-Latin first name (Aulus) and a family name that is believed to be of Celtic ("Catacos") origin.The Romans
Orvieto was annexed by Rome in the 3rd century BC. After the collapse of the Roman Empire its defensible site gained new importance: the episcopal see was transferred from Bolsena, and the city was held by Goths and by Lombards before its self-governing commune was established in the 10th century, in which consuls governed under a feudal oath of fealty to the bishop. Orvieto's relationship to the papacy has been a close one; in the tenth century Pope Benedict VII visited the city of Orvieto with his nephew, Filippo Alberici, who later settled there and became Consul of the city state in 1016.Medieval Orvieto
From 1201 it governed itself through a podestà— who was as often as not the bishop, however, in concert with a military governor, the "captain of the people", but bitter feuds divided the 13th-century city.
Three families are traditionally associated with playing major roles in Orvieto’s history: Monaldeschi, Filippeschi, and Alberici. Unfortunately, the Monaldeschi and Filippeschi families have not survived through the ages. It is understood that the city became one of the major cultural attraction of its time when Thomas Aquinas taught at the Studium. A small university (now part of the University of Perugia), had its origins in a studium generale that was granted to the city by Pope Gregory XI in 1337.
Papal territory
The territory of Orvieto was under papal control long before it was officially added to the Papal States (various dates are quoted); it remained a papal possession until 1860.Main sights
The Duomo
Orvieto is noted for its Gothic cathedral, or duomo. The church is striped in white travertine and greenish-black basalt in narrow bands; its design has often been attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio, but the prevailing modern opinion is that its master mason was an obscure monk named Fra' Bevignate from Perugia; construction began in 1290. The façade (illustration, right) is particularly striking and includes some remarkable sculpture by Lorenzo Maitani (14th century). Inside the cathedral, the Chapel of San Brizio is frescoed by Fra Angelico and with Luca Signorelli's masterpiece, his Last Judgment (1449-51).
Papal residence
Orvieto has long been in papal territory. Pope Boniface VIII was from Orvieto and donated statues of himself at the main city gates, which earned him some criticism from his many enemies.
During the sack of Rome in 1527 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Pope Clement VII took refuge at Orvieto. Fearing that in the event of siege by Charles' troops the city's water might prove insufficient, he had a spectacular well (the Pozzo di S. Patrizio or "Well of St. Patrick") constructed by the architect-engineer Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. The central well shaft was surrounded by ramps in a double helix. These ramps were each designed for one-way traffic, so that mules laden with water-jars might pass down then up again unobstructed. An inscription on the well boasts that QUOD NATURA MUNIMENTO INVIDERAT INDUSTRIA ADIECIT ("what nature stinted for provision, let application supply").
Etruscan ruins
Orvieto is also home to Etruscan ruins and the remnants of a wall that enclosed the city more than 2000 years ago. At the foot of the butte, surrounded by peach and apple trees and a vineyard, the Etruscan necropolis of Crocefisso di Tufo counts a hundred or so chamber tombs laid along a rectangular street grid.
Economy
The white wine of the Orvieto district, to the northeast of the city, is highly prized; red wines are also grown.Orvieto is a member of Cittaslow, the slow town movement
Twin cities
- - Givors, France;
- - Maebashi, Japan;
- - Bethlehem, Palestine;
- - Aiken, South Carolina, United States;
- - Seinajoki, Finland;
- - Kercem, Malta
Image galllery
External links
- [Official Site]
- [OrvietoOnline.com]
- [Umbria Travel:Orvieto]
- [Orvieto] (Ammonet)
- [Orvieto] (Thayer's Gazetteer of Umbria)
- [Duomo of Orvieto] (InItaly.Com)
- [(Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell' Umbria) National Archaeological Museum of Orvieto]. Located in the Palazzo Papale.
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