Orvieto is a city and commune in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are completed by defensive walls built of the same stone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orvieto
Orvieto city wall.
The city was a castle but in place of large stone walls that crawled towards the heavens, Orvieto’s were sheer stone and crumbling boulders which plunged down and into the region’s strong bedrock. the town’s residents hadn’t been content to simply let nature’s fortress stand as-it-was. Instead a series of impressive walls were added to the tops of the cliffs further securing the city’s perimeter. This provides a stable series of walkways and viewing platforms for defenders, residents, and visitors alike to traverse in search of one of the many amazing views the city offers.
Orvieto Cathedral
The Gothic façade of the Orvieto Cathedral is one of the great masterpieces of the Late Middle Ages. The bas-reliefs on the piers depict biblical stories from the Old and New Testament. They are considered among the most famous of all 14th-century sculpture. These marbles from the fourteenth and fifteenth century are the collective and anonymous work of at least three or four masters with assistance of their workshops. It is assumed that Maitani must have worked on the reliefs on the first pier from the left, as work on the reliefs began before 1310. The contract of 1310 did allow Maitani to retain some assistants for the sculptural work on the façade, but it seems likely that these craftsmen had already begun the work under the supervision of an earlier master. The reliefs on the second and third piers are by these craftsmen.
The interior
Columns and pillars divide the Duomo into three naves. The ten small apses on both sides once housed Baroque altars, which were destroyed in the late 19th century to bring the Duomo back to its original structure. The alternating shades of basalt and travertine create a striking perspective effect.
A series of sculptures was created between the 1550s and 1720s. However, the sculptures and the side altars were removed in the late 19th century to restore the Duomo’s original style. For years, the statues were housed on the ground floor of Palazzo Soliano before being closed in wooden crates in the Duomo’s underground chambers. In 2006, they were displayed in the Church of S. Agostino in Orvieto before returning to the Cathedral in 2019. Here, they were placed in their original location with the help of invaluable late 19th-century photographs.
Emilio Greco museum in Orvieto
This museum is home to works in bronze by the sculptor Emilio Greco (32 sculptures and 60 graphic works including lithographs, and drawings). This sculptor also worked for the Duomo making the 3 big bronze doors of the cathedral (replacing the original wooden doors). The Modern art museum Emilio Greco is managed by the Museo Modo (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo) and is set in the elegant medieval Palazzo Soliano, located next to the cathedral. This elegant palace was a Pope residence.
