Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Visitors to hilltop Orvieto can't help but follow some of the same pattern. You
will first rise a thousand feet above the plains to the plateau containing this walled
city. But to escape the blazing sun, you will then descend to the vaulted wine cel-
lars and restaurants dug into the lava rock of the city's foundation. To reach the
heights, you won't confront Signorelli's armed guardian angels but only a ticket-
taker for the steps up Torre del Morro, the town's bell tower. To descend to the
depths, an inexpensive pass (the Carta Orvieto Unica; see below) lets you explore
the underground caves that Etruscans dug into the mesa some 2,500 years ago.
After going up and down all day, you'll be ready to join the citizens of the town
for a promenade back and forth along the mercifully flat street of Via Cavour, to
see and be seen, just another soul passing through a city of history, mystery, and
