Anne Robichaud's Orvieto Tours

Orvieto - Etruscan Majesty

Orvieto (full-day)
Orvieto/Todi (full-day)
Orvieto/Cività di Bagnoregio (full-day+)
Mysterious Etruscans: Perugia and Orvieto (2 days)

After lunch in a wonderful trattoria hidden in the backstreets, we'll take in the wonders of Orvieto's zebra-striped Gothic Duomo: the famous splendid Renaissance fresco cycle of Luca Signorelli, as well as a most precious relic and other extraordinary masterpieces.

(Possible addition enroute back to the Assisi area: a stop at a local shrine, famed for its maiolica folk art, from the 16th c. to the present.)

Orvieto/Todi (full-day)
After our visit to Orvieto (see above), we'll drive about 1/2 hr to Todi, a medieval gem perched high on a hill overlooking the valley below, perfect look-out point since Etruscan times. Todi's main piazza seems a stage setting, so perfectly does it synthesize all that is medieval. A wonderful church just outside the medieval walls of Todi synthesizes the Renaissance.

Orvieto/Cività di Bagnoregio (full-day+)
After our tour in Orvieto and lunch in a characteristic family-run trattoria in the back streets... on to Cività di Bagnoregio... and a surprise!

Mysterious Etruscans: Perugia and Orvieto (2 days)
This tour is centered on the Etruscans, whose culture influences the artistic/cultural development of Umbria as early as the 6th c. Our tour will take in important Etruscan sites in both Perugia and Orvieto, 2 of the most important of the dodecapoli, league of 12 Etruscan city-states.

Perugia (day 1)
Etruscan gate, Perugia Our visit starts with a visit to an important 2nd c. BC Etruscan chamber tomb (in the area of an ancient Etruscan necropolis) outside of Perugia. Afterwards, a visit to the Archaelogical Museum of Perugia to view a rich collection of artifacts from the Etruscan and Roman periods of ancient Perusia. We'll have lunch in a local trattoria, followed by a walk through the town - to view two of the Etruscan city gates of 2nd - 3rd c. BC, as well as the Etruscan well (same period), a marvel of engineering skill. We'll see sections of the Etruscan walls of the city in various spots, including in the chocolate shop where we'll end our tour!

Orvieto (day 2)
Orvieto's impregnable position on a tufo-rock plateau was cleverly selected by the Etruscans, probably its first inhabitants. We'll start our visit at the Etruscan tombs outside the city, then head up the tufo plateau on the funicular to visit Orvieto's fine Etruscan museum, the result of the donation of the personal collection of a wealthy Orvietano.