We quickly located a hotel in the center of the city close to the main attraction, the Duomo, or cathedral. Although I had heard that the Duomo was impressive, it was even more beautiful than I had imagined, with an ornately carved facade, covered by colorful gilded mosaics. Amazingly, it took over 300 years to build. The frescoes inside are also remarkable.

Along the large piazza in front of the Duomo are cafes and enoteche, serving the local crisp, white Orvieto wine. Although we’ve never been terribly fond of it, studying the details of the Duomo’s facade while sitting in a cafe enjoying a glass of wine seemed like the natural thing to do.

There are quite a few museums in Orvieto, most housing Etruscan antiquities. We didn’t need to visit a museum to see Etruscan treasures, however. At the conclusion of our dinner that night, the restaurant host insisted we descend a steep staircase. We weren’t sure what we would find in the basement, but the host had seemed pretty enthusiastic about it. Below the restaurant was a cave containing Etruscan ruins. Although the pieces of pottery scattered about in the small cave's alcoves were not especially remarkable, we were struck by the realization that they had been there since the 5th or 6th century BC. Climbing back up to the restaurant, we found the host anxiously awaiting our reaction, and we made what we hoped were appropriately enthusiastic remarks, to which he seemed pleased.

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