Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio (Driver Only/Self Touring)

The cathedral’s facade contains many of the elements of design that were common to religious construction from the 14th to the 20th century. The construction begun in 1290 and lasted for almost 300 years. During the course of that time, the design evolved from Romanesque to Gothic. Many significant works of art can be found in the cathedral, and a visit to the Chapel of the Madonna di San Brizio is a must-see. It contains frescoes begun by Fra Angelico and finished by Signorelli. The frescoes represent many events in Christianity including the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment. They begin with the Preaching of the Antichrist and continue to the Doomsday and the Resurrection of the Flesh.

Enjoy some leisure time to explore the quaint streets and squares in Orvieto, where you can find artistic workshops and craft shops, but also lovely cafes to enjoy a great gelato and watch the people go by.

Orvieto’s main military weakness was a lack of water, so the Medici Pope Clement VII ordered the well to be dug in case of a military siege. Visitors can walk down the 248 steps to the bottom, although the only thing to see is the water at the bottom of the well.

A small ancient village that clings to the precipice of the steep hill it sits on, a small island in an eerie sea of uninhabitable landscape that makes up the surrounding valleys. For this reason views of Civita di Bagnoregio from across the valley are incredibly picturesque. This is also one of the most popular villages featured in post cards from Italy. Civita is a traffic-free community, and can be reached only by a footbridge suspended in the air. Perhaps for this reason, and its complete isolation from the real world, that only about 20 people live here year around.