We parked in the public lot below the city, and took the tram up. The cathedral is very ornate with spectacular tile work and carved frescos. There is a water well with a double, spiral ramp going down, down a couple hundred feet to the water source. The idea was you could go down, then back up without passing people going in the opposite direction.
Orvieto would be a great place to spend a day or two, but we were headed for a couple nights in a very small, hilltop town called Civita. The hill stands in a canyon next to the city of Bagnoregio. There are no roads going into Civita, just a long, half mile ramp, so you park your car in Bagnoregio and walk across the canyon and up into the town.
We were staying at (the time) the only place available in the town, the Civita Bed and Breakfast. I know there are a couple other places to stay now. That said, we had a great time. The room was simple and plain, but we had the entire town to ourselves at night. We would wander the streets, and you could hear the occasional dinner going on behind closed doors, but no one else was out and about.
The first night we had dinner in the restaurant at the bed and breakfast. We were the only people there. I mean they opened up and cooked just for us, and it was a great (if quiet) meal at a very good price.
Part of the town has fallen off the cliffs into the canyon below, and there are Etruscan tunnels, even a church, carved into the tufa beneath.
We spent a day over in Assisi, partly to see the city and walk the streets of St. Francis, and partly to get our laundry done. We had planned to do the laundry ourselves, as always, but this time they would not let us do it, so we just dropped it of and spent the time walking and eating.
The church of Assisi is really beautiful inside, and it is perched right at the edge of the city, so it looks spectacular.
I was not sure how much the laundry would cost, and we were really surprised to see that it was less expensive for them to do it than to do it ourselves. We have hardly ever done our own laundry since.
Civita is such a small place, with not much to do, and these were some of the most relaxing days of our trip.
-June 2010