shefgab

Hi!

I'm off to a friends wedding in a few weeks. The venue is in the countryside north of Rome (near Viterbo) on a Saturday afternoon. Logistically it's a bit of a nightmare with public transport, so I think i'm going to hire a car. Thankfully, car hire is super cheap (Ł17 for 4 days!!) from FCO. My original plan was to stay in Rome and "public transport" there, but as i've been to Rome a fair few times, plus the cheap car hire, I'm now looking at avoiding the city altogether.

I'm flying in Thursday afternoon to FCO, back on Monday afternoon (and hoping to get a few BA 767s before they're retired next month), so now need somewhere to go for Thursday/Friday/Sunday night.

I've been to Italy a lot, but mainly stuck to the cities. With a car and a few days, does anyone have some suggestions for nice places to visit between Rome and Florence? Maybe some "forgotten" villages in the mountains, or a cool albergio in the hills? The Central Appenines look lovely!

Any ideas?!

Grazie!

rickg523

Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio.
You can park at the train station by the highway and take the Funicular up to the village. It's an artisan center, particularly nice glazed ceramics. There's a bus that runs from the center of town to Bagnoregio. Or you can head back down and drive there. From that village there's the very scenic and unique walk to Civita.
Orvieto
Civita

shefgab

Thanks!

Joanna2360

In addition to the ceramics, the town, which is at the top of an extinct volcano and has been inhabited since long before the Romans got there, is a destination for food and wine lovers, plus art lovers--the cathedral in the center of town is Medieval, is owned by the city of Orvieto, not by the Catholic Church, and contains frescos by Luca Signorelli that seem to have influenced Michelangelo when he painted The Last Judgment in the Sistine (the 60 foot fresco above the alter and under the great ceiling). The town has scenic views and charming back streets that can be visited only on foot. There are many good restaurants, but here's just one you might try: Antico Bucchero, which is named for the distinctive black ceramic made from black volcanic rock that Orvieto is noted for. The town is noted also for Orvieto wine, for truffles, for its many kinds of salumi, for wild boar dishes, and for olive oil pressed from the grapes grown on the slopes of the mountain that Orvieto sits on top of. There also are Etruscan artifacts and sites that you can visit if you like archeological tours. You could spend a whole pleasurable day in Orvieto before moving on to other hill towns in Umbria near the Tuscan border. One little caution: it will cost perhaps 3 Euros to see the Signorelli frescos in the San Brizo chapel (far right after you enter), but the price is worth it. However to enter the cathedral is free, and there are wonderful narrative frescos in the other major chapel inside the church (to your left) that you can see at no cost.

pbiflyer

Siena? If you need another suggestion.

Where did you get the cheap car rental?

arttravel

jac162

If you're seeing the Duomo in Orvieto - bring along a pair of binoculars to look at the Signorelli frescoes. They are stunning. I just went two weeks ago, towards the end of the day (make sure there's still sunlight though, you'll need the soft lighting to illuminate the frescoes) and there was no charge to enter the chapel of San Brizio.

If you don't want to hire a car the train station is served by the funicular. Also not to miss is St. Patrick's well right where the funicular drops you off in town - a marvel of engineering from the early 1500's. It's only a short walk from the funicular to the Duomo (the town is small) but there are buses which run frequently between the two locations for those that don't want to walk.

Nearby Todi is also worth a visit as well, you can take a bus from Orvieto - but it's a lot easier if you have a hired car. Enjoy!