Day Trip to Orvieto: A Tale of Two Wells

Spring is definitely in full-force here in Rome.  Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, our dinner plates are filled with fava beans and asparagus, and I've officially switched out my raincoat and boots for skirts and sandals.  I'm even writing this blog entry from the Academy's sunny 4th floor terrace.  Still, as wonderful as this is, the arrival of spring has been bitter-sweet, because it feels a bit like the beginning of the end.  I know, I know, woe is me.  I don't expect your sympathy, but (as much as I miss our family and friends) the idea of coming back to "real life" this fall still makes me a bit sad (especially since lucky Tom will get to spend a good chunk of next year in Italy again as a fellow at the Scuola Normale in Pisa).

Orvieto (the old town is up on the hill in the background)

Of course, though, I still have a lot to look forward to, and Tom and I are making a good effort to get some more sight seeing in this spring before it gets unbearably hot (which we hear happens in July and August).  With that in mind, we decided to a take a day-trip up to Orvieto yesterday.  

Orvieto is a small hill-top town located in the Umbria region of Italy, about 75 miles North of Rome.  Unfortunately, like many quaint little Italian towns, it's become a mecca for tourists (especially since a round-trip train ticket from Rome is only about 15 Euros), but it's definitely still possible to appreciate its charm (especially if you're willing to walk a bit off the beaten path).   

Fun on the Funicular

To be more specific, though, I should say that in modern times Orvieto actually consists of both the "new" part (located at the base of the hill, down by the train station), the old city up on the hill.  To get between them, Orvieto's 20,000 residents and countless visitors just need to take a quick one minute ride on the the surprisingly smooth and quiet funicular (which is basically a cable car). And the old city is actually quite old. Although many of the current structures are Medieval, Orvieto began as an Etruscan settlement, and then became part of the Roman Empire around 300 B.C.  After the fall of the Empire, it remained relevant due to its location between Rome and Florence, and (perhaps for that same reason), it remains a popular spot today.    

Typical Orvieto View

Orvieto's biggest claims to fame are probably its Duomo, its 14th century well, and its overall "character," meaning picturesque streets and amazing views of the surrounding countryside.  There are, of course, some museums and a few other points of interest, but given our short visit, Tom and I spent most of the day just walking around town, admiring the architecture, and taking in those amazing views.  Oddly, the square around the Duomo was swarming with tourists, but we practically had the park with the scenic overlook to ourselves.  I haven't spent much time in Tuscany (other than a few days in Florence), but I imagine the landscape is similar to the kind that all of those movie and book heroines seek out when they flee to Tuscany to recover from a bad breakup/find themselves/meet a cute Italian guy (in that order).  And who can blame them?  After spending half an hour gazing out to the variously colored and textured plots of land, I didn't have a care in the world (other than, maybe, where to get my next gelato fix).

Rooftops

Cool Architecture

Views of the Countryside

Me (right) and the Castle Tom Plans to Buy (left)

Duomo

Pozzo della Cava

Perhaps the funniest part of our trip, though, was our attempt to see the famous Orvieto well.  Tom and I didn't have a guidebook (or a map) with us, so we primarily relied on tourist signs (and our bad senses of direction) to get around town.  We had both seen pretty incredible pictures of an Orvieto well, so when we saw signs pointing toward the "Pozzo della Cava," (meaning "well of the cave"), we assumed that was it.  So, we paid the entry fee, and began the self-guided tour. The caves themselves were interesting to see, since many of them were part of an underground system built by the Etruscans, and we were surprised that we practically had the site to ourselves.  When we got to the well, though, it looked much different than we were expecting.  I mean, it was nice enough to look at, and was very deep (which was impressive, considering that at least part of it built in ancient times), but it was lacking the symmetry and windows we were expecting. Still, we thought it was possible that we were just misremembering things, and Tom even suggested that the picture we saw was photoshopped.  After all, we were at the Orvieto well.   

Pozzo di San Patrizio

Still, just to be safe, I skimmed through a guidebook at the Pozzo della Cava gift shop on our way out, and learned that Orvieo actually has not one- but two- tourist sites involving wells.  Honestly, what were the chances?!  So, Tom and I made our way to the other side of the hill to visit the other one, Pozzo di San Patrizio.  This well, which was built in the 1500s, turned out to look exactly how we had imagined it.  It housed two internal spiral staircases (one for going up, one for going down), and was full of windows (and tourists).  The water only exists at the very bottom of the 175 foot well, and so residents used to use donkeys to transport the water up to ground level. Nowadays, though, it's a lot of fun to walk down to the bottom (it's slightly less fun to walk back up!) and watch how the well changes color (from bright white to dark brown) as you descend deeper and deeper into the Earth.

Even though we visited the first well by mistake, I'm still very glad we got to see them both.  It was interesting to compare them, and I'm sure the calamity will help us remember our trip to this charming little town many years into the future.  As we start to check more and more off our list, I'm already feeling a sense of nostalgia for what I'm sure I'll someday look back on as the most exciting year of my life.  Still, it makes me appreciate each experience I have all the more, and, fortunately, I at least now have a good excuse to visit Italy again (Pisa, at least) next spring.

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Mon. April 15:  I'm sorry to rub it in to my poor Minnesotan friends and family members (who still have snow on the ground), but the weather here has been absolutely perfect.  About 70 and sunny every day.