There’s usually a life-sized creche scene on the lawn in front of Assisi’s majestic Basilica di San Francesco, right across the street from the Bar San Francesco of the Angeletti family. Since 1995, the Angeletti family, in fact, has worked with volunteers to set up the artisanal presepe (creche) with the help of volunteers each Christmastime.…
Glorious Naples is not only the Italian capital of pizza but also of espresso; in fact, here in Umbria if we wish to compliment the coffee of a local coffee bar, we might say, “veramente buonissimo – come a Napoli!” (“Really very good- as if from Naples”). Neapolitans are not tea-drinkers, for they see tea as…
Perched on a porous volcanic rock plateau, the geology of Orvieto is characterized by layers of volcanic materials, such as lava, ash, and pumice, permitting the easy creation of caves, cisterns, tunnels and underground cavities over the centuries. Over the years, the orvietani have often uncovered remnants of medieval and Renaissance ceramic plates, bowls, cups, jars,…
As you enter the Cappella di San Brizio in the Orvieto Duomo (cathedral), the venerated Madonna di San Brizio will be facing you, reigning over the altar. Constructed in the 15th-century in the place of the sacristy, in 1622, this chapel was dedicated to San Brizio, one of the first bishops of Spoleto and Foligno, who’d preached in Orvieto.…
What has always uniquely characterized Orvieto is the harmony of the surrounding countryside with the tufaceous rock plateau on which this medieval gem sits: The thunderous action of an ancient volcano gave birth to Orvieto perched on the lava rock spewed out of that volcano which is now the nearby Lake Bolsena. This tufaceous…
After you’ve viewed the splendors of the Orvieto Duomo (Cathedral) – taking in the mosaic splendor….. …and sculpted masterpieces on the facade – …as well as the many treasures of the interior… ….take time to explore Orvieto’s underground treasures as well. On the eastern side of Orvieto – not far from the site of a 5th- B.C.…
On Orvieto’s Piazza Repubblica – and there’s one in every Italian town, commemorating the birth of Italy, “the new republic” in 1860 – the dodecagonal belltower of the church of Sant Andrea towers above the church and the adjacent palazzo comunale (city hall). The church – called simply “Sant’Andrea” by the orvietani – is actually dedicated to…
Even “freddo polare” (“polar cold” – which for Italy means anything below freezing temperature) – never deters jazz appassionati from heading to Orvieto at the end of December for Umbria Jazz Winter. We’re always there, too, celebrating our December 30th wedding anniversary. But not this year: COVID has voided Umbria Jazz Winter for December, 2020. Medieval Orvieto…
Constructed in white travertine and black balsamic rock – for Orvieto was built on a volcanic plateau – the glorious Duomo (cathedral) dominates this Umbrian medieval hill town: And the splendor of the Cathedral is not simply on the exterior, as you’ll realize upon entry: Just to the left of the main altar, the Cappella del…
My next ZOOM presentation – December 5th – will take us to Orvieto… – and these blog notes prior are a preview of the wonders we’ll discover together. In medieval frescoes, artists did not generally sign the works, nor slip themselves into the works as self-portraits, although artists have always left some sort of a…