Italy: Small Towns, Amazing finds Orvieto

Orvieto, Italy

Photo from Wikipedia web site

The Cathedral of Orvieto is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy (Wikapedia)

Located between Florence and Rome on a train route qualified Orvietto as a town I would be able to visit.    Riding either the small orange bus or taking the funicular from the train station, you are quickly in the heart of Orvietto.  

The Duomo or cathedral has much to see but the day I visited there was a wedding so non guests were restricted to where we could wander in the church.   

No matter, I was fascinated by the exterior carvings.  Some of the history of the reliefs can be found here.

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The carvings on the freeze running across the front of the cathedral is so detailed you could spend hours looking from face to face.   This was one day a guided tour would have been most helpful to explain the origin of the subject matter.   The lower portion of the carvings is covered by plexiglass in what I expect is an attempt to stop visitors from touching or tracing the faces of the 'souls on their way to hell'

Even with a telephoto lens it was difficult to obtain clear photo but every time I return to these photos I find a  new detail or expression on one of the faces of the dammed.

On my next visit I shall ask for more information and perhaps they will lend me a ladar.