About Orvieto in Umbria Tour

ORVIETO | The noble City
Orvieto stands on a cliff made of volcanic tuff soaring above a splendid landscape that is blessed with fields and vineyards from where Orvieto gets its well-known wines. Every wine connoisseur throughout the world can see why during the antiquity era Oriveto was also known as Oinarea, "where wine flows".
Visiting this tall and ancient medieval city is a journey through time. As you stroll along the narrow streets, layers of history can be seen on the facades of elegant architectural structures. Originating with the Etruscans from the 6th to the 3rd century BC, Orvieto has seen many changes as it made its passage through the medieval era as a wealthy city-state that marked the passing of time by the strokes of the Clock of Murizio, the first machine of its kind to regulate the working hours. Sixteenth century renewed the medieval structures as they were integrated with new palaces and churches designed by famous architects of that era who transformed the facet of the city. The nineteenth century brought on a further renewal of the town with both public and private structures being added in the neoclassic style. Despite progressive modifications, the original medieval layout is testimony of the fact that the city has not lost any of its old charm, and it's one of Italy greatest treasures to be discovered.

Story of ORVIETO
The archaeological evidence of Etruscan era, provided by excavation campaigns and studies conducted in recent years, offer a fairly reliable, although still incomplete, the ancient city, identified after many uncertainties and controversies between etruscologi in the city of Velzna. Called probably Volsinii Veteres (the dispute on the name of this city Etruscan has not yet been completed, but this seems the most reliable) stood around a famous shrine Etruscan, Fanum Voltumnae destination each year of the inhabitants who dell'Etruria confluivano to celebrate religious rites, games and events. The city had, dall'VIII the sixth century BC, a major economic development, which mainly benefited wealthy families in a heavily oligarchico, and a population increase that, in the composition of the population, shows the openness to a multiethnic city; of everything is reflected by the remains of the city on the cliff and mainly from nearby necropolis. The city reached its peak between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, becoming a thriving commercial and artistic centre, with a military supremacy guaranteed by its strategic position that gave the appearance of a natural fortress.