Orvieto & Siena

The information given was breakfast at 6.30am; bus departs 6.50am and we cannot be late. That’s OK, but no-one, Bishop included, realised daylight saving ended, so most were up and about an hour before the already early start time. A big round of applause for the Hotel staff! Anyway, it was a pleasant drive as we headed for Orvieto and our first cathedral for the day.

The trip up to the old part of town was fascinating. A ‘funiculare’ or cable-car. Then a further bus trip up narrow streets to the top. The cathedral, built 1290 – 1310 was striking in that two different coloured building stones were used, one whitish, the other dark grey.

The other feature here was the mixing of arch styles with the introduction of gothic arches in the façade, either side of the central roman arch. Inside, the same striped effect could be seen but the stone was discoloured from the passage of time. Didn’t do a lot for me, but it was huge, as we have come to expect.

We celebrated Mass in the Chapel of the Corporal, where the miracle of Bolsena occurred in 1263. Afterwards, very nice shopping and coffee around the streets of Orvieto.

Onward then to Tuscany and a lunch stop literally in the middle of the highway, but up high. A bit different!

The view from the lunch venue

Continuing through Tuscany (lovely scenery), our bus drove us most of the way up to the medieval hilltop town of Siena, where St Catherine was born, where St Dominic and St Bernadino lived and where eight popes were born. St Catherine started the Dominican Community, but apparently, she never actually took her final vows as a nun and stayed as a ‘third order’ sister.

The cathedral here also was striped from dual coloured building stone and also had the mixture of gothic and roman arches out front. The inside was fascinating with the floor covered with large images with a sort of in-laid effect, but I was guilty of switching off from the irritating guide’s commentary and hence missed a Michelangelo piece and a Raphael painting. Good one!

The Piazza Del Campo in the middle of town had a great atmosphere with a natural basin or amphitheatre with great shopping and coffee as well. This is the square where they run the famous Palio horse races each year. I think they cover the cobblestones with sand, looking at the postcard pictures. Shame we missed it!

Early start tomorrow to catch the plane from Rome to Dubai, then home.

Hope you’ve enjoyed these rambling thoughts and reflections. No guarantee about the accuracy of many of the dates and observations, so beware. It has been an immensely rewarding trip and I’m sure the benefits will flow. We gathered after dinner tonight to thank the Bishop for initiating and supporting this pilgrimage and especially for his efforts, enthusiasm and insights. A great trip.

Over and out!