Luca Signorelli and Orvieto

Friday we entered the walled city of Orvieto, built atop vulcanic tufa and 1,050 feet above the plain below. It is a city that has seen continuous habitation since probably the Bronze and Iron ages. Etruscans called it Velzna (or Volsinii) and it was a central religious area as well as strategic military stronghold. Romans defeated and displace the Etruscans in 265 b.c.e. and built a port there for commerce. One of the main items of trade was the wonderful white wine- Orvieto Classico.

Orvieto in the distance

Orvieto is an easy train ride (with one switch) from most cities in the area and frankly, if I had to choose between doing two days in Florence or two days here, it would be a real problem. I think I would come down on the side of Orvieto!

Our Dante related tour started with a visit to St. Domenico where the famous sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio did the wall tomb for Cardinal Guillaume de Braye. de Braye was of the archdiocese of Sens, France and died in Orvieto. He had stipulated that he wanted to be buried in a significant church so they buried him (in 1282) in Orvieto. He broke ranks in 1277 when in a papal election he voted for Nicholas III (Orsini-whom Dante puts in the 3rd bolgia of the 9th circle of hell reserved for Simoniacs-those who sold sacred objects or offices of the church). In any case, De Braye was clearly reconciled with France upon burial as his tomb is decorated with fleur de lis and the tomb was permitted by Charles de Valois.

My favorite part about this tomb was the Virgin. She is clearly detachable from her infant Jesus so I asked of art historian Christie Fengler Stephany whether she was a separate statue. In fact, Arnolfo di Cambio recycled a Roman statue of Juno, shaved the back of the statue to sit against the wall, and  christianized the whole thing with a bolted on Baby Jesus. Partial to Juno, I couldn't help but approve.

Juno and the Christ Child

Our next visit was by far the most awe-inspiring thus far. In the past three weeks I have stood for 10 minutes almost alone in front of Botticelli's  Spring, seen the Sistine Chapel and the Pietà, entered the Holy of Holies and oogled Duccio's Maestà.  All of these prepared me perhaps to take in the daring frescoes of Luca Signorelli in the Duomo of Orvieto. They are spectacular.

Signorelli clearly channeled Dante-he paints a portrait of him in two places ( in the crowd scene in the most controversial and memorable of the frescoes, the Antichrist, and in a portrait panel). The frescoes are a clear story about the role of art in instruction and morality. They are absolutely stunning. Here are some good links to explore them further: Signorelli Frescoes-Savanarola and Signorelli images-text questionable.

I have much more to learn about these before writing anything but I wanted to post the links for others to explore. Ron Herzman wrote an excellent article in 1999 for Studies in Iconography which I was lucky enough to borrow and am half way through. It is a wonderful treatment of the 11 frescoes representing eleven scenes from Purgatorio.  In it, Herzman argues that Signorelli chose these 11 images based on what they say about the role of the artist in society.

The outside of the Duomo where the frescoes are housed is equally fantastic. Four pilasters by Lorenzo Maitani depict Genesis, the story of Jesse, Jesus's Life and the Last Judgement. Naturally, I love the devils.

Deanna, Jeff, Kitty, Linda

Elderberries!

looking up the protective walls

The lovely Umbrian countryside outside Orvieto. 

After our full morning, Linda and I were starving. We headed to a wonderful restaurant just opposite the Duomo with Jeff and Deanna Moore from Oregon. We ordered some Liquid Gold (Orvieto Classico Superior-D.O.C.) and sandwhiches with eggplant, pecorino docce (fresh as opposed to aged pecorino), pesto and prosciuto. Yum! After lunch we had a fantastic hike around the outside walls on a cobllestone path that runs 4.5 km. I was covetous of the elderberries that hung like small grape bunches. Above are images from the end of our day.

We had one more stop, Bolsena. This was a complete surprise announced on the bus. Just  southwest of Orvieto, Bolsena is the community to which the Etruscans fled after the Roman take over of Orvieto. It has an enormous lake that greeted us shining and inviting as we twisted into town on our bus, and the church of Sta. Cristina. At Sta. Cristina many of us (myself included) had our first tour of the multi-storied catacombs. It was just beyond words! Sta. Cristina is the site of the miracle that inspired the construction of the Duomo in Orvieto to which Tomas Aquinas was a witness. Here is a summary of the miracle celebrated. In 1263, a Bohemian priest, Peter of Prague, skeptical about the fact of transubstantiation (the fact that the eucharist is the actual body of christ), was celebrating mass. As he raised the host (communion wafer), it began dripping blood. The altar cloth that was stained is preserved in the Duomo to this day.

My miracles seem to involve much less skepticism though perhaps as much wonderf. It is very hard to imagine that I am here on this journey, that my best and most beloved friend Linda was here the whole week with me, and that my husband is now here for the next week to share it with me. I doubt anyone will build a Duomo to this miracle, so I'll do my best to construct it in the book of my memory and here online.