Ficulle – Orvieto May 23

This morning in Ficulle was very foggy. I went to a bar across the street for an Italian pastry and coffee breakfast and it started pouring down . I prepared for the worst as I left town.

The route down hill follows the ancient Via Cassia. The road is now gravel but here and there the original Roman stones are visible .

The Via Cassia was a major north south route for centuries after about 150AD.

After an hour or so of walking I could see the city of Orvieto 10km off in the distance, according to my trusty GPS device.

The faint bump on the horizon is the Duomo of Orvieto. However to avoid the busy dangerous roads below, my route was a tortuous one of about another 20km.

Down below in the valley I could see the high speed railway line. There’s a train on the line that perhaps you can see.

This vineyard had roses growing at the end of each row.

It never did rain again today and I soon took off my raincoat which was making me sweat .

Whilst family dogs are common in Italy, hunting dogs are often kept caged up. I’d seen this a lot at farm houses but today I came across an area with dozens of little dog compounds.

All the dogs were excited when I passed by. I guess their owners live in town.

I passed a Roman bridge repaired in the time of Pope Julius but since returned to a ruin.

Getting closer to Orvieto …

The places people built their houses !

Why did the peacock cross the road?

You can hop on a high speed train, or you can walk through mud, rock hop across creeks and push your way through long grass and see so much more!

I ended up walking through wet long grass up to my head level and struggling through vines that wrapped around my feet which was quite tiring. I fell over a few times.

I stopped to wring put the water from my socks and trousers.

Mid afternoon I reached Orvieto but there was another climb up to the town.

The natural tuff has been reinforced over the centuries since the town was established by the Etruscans.

I eventually reached a town gate.

Houses are built right into the rock .

Orvieto is on the Italian tourist trail for good reason . Here are some views of the town .

I had a very satisfying hour throwing all my muddy clothes into a washing machine, but I couldn’t find anywhere to buy socks . Mine are full of holes after only 1,000km.

The magnificent 13th century gothic cathedral dominates the town.

14th century fresco detail

Judgement Day – detail from a 15th century work by Luca Signorelli.

I was pretty hungry after my paltry dinner last night and just some dried fruit for lunch.

Umbrichelli with Amatriciana sauce.

Tomorrow I’ve got just a 20km walk to Bagnoregio and so I’ll have time to visit the fascinating town of Civita di Bagnoregio.