Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
antiques-filled apartments are named for constellations, and decorated in warm,
rustic tones. An indoor Jacuzzi offers yet another method for relaxation. Rooms
range from
€
98 to
€
138 a night,
€
180 to
€
250 for a weekend, and
€
510 to
€
695 for a week.
€€€
It's worth lodging outside the city to stay at the lovely and terrifically
family-friendly
Villa Ciconia
9
(Via dei Tigli, 69, Loc. Ciconia;
%
0763-
3055823; www.hotelvillaciconia.com).
Kids will enjoy the swimming pool, and
the twisting hallways, hidden alcoves, and old-fortress feel of this 16th-century
villa. Parents will like the secluded peace of the gardens and the wood-beamed
ambience, with colorful tiled floors and elaborate tapestries on some of the walls.
The standard rooms (
130) are large, with iron fixtures, whitewashed walls, tiled
floors, and a combination of antique and more modern furniture. The superior
rooms (
€
155) are even bigger, and have the best garden views of the lot. Both
varieties have space to add a cot for children. The Villa's restaurant is open to the
public, and features a truffle-oriented pasta and grill menu, with
primi
ranging
from
€
6.50 to
€
10, and main dishes going for
€
10 to
€
14.
Vacation Home & Apartment Rentals
If you're looking for a vacation home or apartment rental, the company to choose
is
Galli Immobiliare
(Via del Duomo, 19A;
%
0763-343933; www.galliimmobiliare.
com),
a local real-estate agency, with a staff that knows the area and local proper-
ties inside and out. As usual, rentals are available by the week, month, or season,
as are all levels of lodgings from a basic one-bedroom apartment, in the heart of
Orvieto, to five-bedroom villas with swimming pool, barbecue, and modern
kitchens out in the countryside. Rentals usually have a 1-week minimum and
some are seasonal. The rental office (and the website) has photos of the rentals
with details of features, and they tend to be fairly accurate. I'd be wary, however,
of renting an apartment that only has an exterior shot accompanying the listing.
Apartments begin at
€
80 per night for a small room, while out-of-town villas
begin at
€
1,100 a week. Note that the tourist office in town also has an extensive
rotating list of local and regional apartment properties, though these are probably
not as carefully vetted as Galli Immobiliare's will be.
DINING FOR ALL TASTES
€€
€
For the quintessential Orvietan dining experience, combining the modern
and the medieval, try first the
Tipica Trattoria Etrusca Orvieto
5
(Via L Maitani,
10;
%
0763-344016; www.argoweb.it/trattoria_etrusca; Tues-Sun).
Dishes in
this crisp, clean restaurant focus on local specialties that include handmade
umbrichelli
pasta (
12), fresh bread with olives and rose-
mary, and an outstanding minestrone soup with fennel (
€
4). Normal pasta plates
average
€
7-
€
9), rabbit dishes (
€
15. Salads are mixed at the table, and the
dessert cart features the
tarta estruscana,
a sweet cake of lemon and almond. Also
try the local Passito sweet wine. The manager greets diners at their tables, and will
show off the medieval well and the old cellars, which are 20m (66 ft.) under-
ground, complete with a long dining table (which can be reserved for tastings),
dusty bottles of wine, hanging bananas, and a general feel of a secret gastronom-
ical cult hideaway.
€
7 to
€
9,
secondi
€
10 to
€
