5. Todi to Orvieto to Bomarzo to Todi

Greetings from Todi… April 15 – Tax day?

After a quick yogurt and another stroll around Todi, we headed to Orvieto, supposedly to see the famous Pozzo di San Patrizio (a historic well and a UNESCO Heritage Site) – St. Patrick’s Well… and of course to stroll around Orvieto. It’s been many years since we’ve been to this part of Italy so some stops bring back memories and others are totally new. We arrived in Orvieto about 45-minute s after leaving Todi–through lush landscape, through dozens of tunnels that cut through the mountains, and wonderful views of the river— and we parked in the public lot. We had been told to follow the signs to the train station to find parking, which we thought we did, and then we were supposed to take the funicular to the base of the town. All went well—parked, got our tickets for the funicular and also for the “well”.. and got on the funicular, without paying much attention to signs. Actually, the funicular was about to leave so we just hopped on. Then we began to descend, when we were supposed to ascend. We realized that we had actually found parking at the base of the town and the funicular was going lower – to the train station, where we thought we were going to park. So, we descended to the station and then got the next funicular going back to where we started..

Then we walked through the town – Orvietto is lovely, a little larger than Todi but not as elegant, and not as steep a climb—the latter point being a positive. We had heard about a restaurant called Trattoria Palombo so we made our way there. The place was totally booked, but I went inside and used a little charm (I can do that) and a little NY moxie (I can do that too) and got us a table for 15 minutes later. We strolled a bit more and then went in to eat.. Shared a great lunch with antipasti, pasta arrabiata, and veal scallopini with lemon (lots of lemon!!).. had wine, but no dessert (exhibiting so much will power!). Then we had a mission—to find a jacket for Mike, preferably something waterproof. Somehow, he left his jacket at our house in Oakland and it’s really been cold and damp here. Mission accomplished. And although he thinks the greenish gray color is beyond his usual palette of black and navy and tan, I think it is perfect and the color is very chic.

Then we went to St Patrick’s Well… The Pozzo di San Patrizio … a historic well designed and built between 1527 and 1537, by the architect/engineer Antonio da Sangallo the Younger of Florence, at the behest of the Pope at that time who had taken refuge at Orvieto during what is known as “the sack of Rome.” It was feared that the city’s water supply would be insufficient in the event of a siege. The name came from medieval legends that proclaimed that St. Patrick’s Purgatory in Ireland gave access down to Purgatory and that was defined as something very very deep. The well shaft is designed with two ramps that are like a double helix, with only two doors – one leading to the down ramp and one the up side, which enabled mules to carry empty water containers down and full containers up without obstruction. The well is 175 ft. deep and 43 ft. wide. There is a large dome over the well that provides light. A Latin inscription says “QUOD NATURA MUNIMENTO INVIDERAT INDUSTRIA ADIECIT” which Google translates as “Industry added what nature envied to the fort.” Mike, with his high school Latin translates it to say “What nature has provided, industry has enhanced.” Anyway, we started to descend to the base of the well, but quickly decided to just go a few landings and turn around (even though technically we should have gone to the bottom and then up the other side as planned, since if you reverse your route, you cannot exit at the entrance… but we cleverly waited for someone to enter so we could sneak through the door. The steps were very uneven; it was dark; because of recent rain, the steps were slippery; and the steps were very uneven. We decided we got the sense of the well by looking down and across. It would have been exciting, I suppose, to do the 527 steps.. but not slipping or falling was also a good idea.

Then we headed to Bomarzo, the site of a very strange park—made even stranger by the cloud cover and slight damp ground. It’s called The Monsters’ Park of Bomarzo… with numerous larger-than-life sculptures.. and was created in the middle of the 16th Century by Vicino Orsini who had an estate on that site. He built a labyrinth of symbols where “Ladies and Knights could look to have their wishes fulfilled and wander until they got lost” (this comes from the brochure at the park). “He populated the ‘sacred wood’ with monsters and tortoises, obelisks, nymphs, and giant statues.” After his death, the place was abandoned, and no one cared for the structures—considered (again according to the catalogue) to be “jewels of mannerist art.” But after centuries of oblivion, the present owner–the Bettini family brought it back to life. According to Wikipedia, it was commissioned by Pier Francesco Orsini, called Vicino, a 16th-century patron of the arts, greatly devoted to his wife Giulia Farnese (not to be confused with her maternal great-aunt also named Giulia Farnese, the mistress of Pope Alexander VI). When Orsini’s wife died, he created the gardens to cope with his grief. During the 19th century, and deep into the 20th, the garden became overgrown and neglected, but after Salvador Dalí made a short movie about the park and completed a painting based on the park in the 1950s, the Bettini family implemented a plan to restore the park; the restoration project lasted throughout the 1970s.”

We strolled the Garden which is quite a site… and then as it began to rain we headed back to Todi for dinner.

We decided to save time and head back to Cavour which is a quick walk up to the square and off a small alley (close but steep). By the way, we’re averaging well over 12,000 steps and 8 flights a day which does not account for the steep pathways. (But alas, I think we are adding pounds rather than losing, given the amazing meals). We had had lunch at Cavour the first day we were in Todi, and the food was good; it was comfortable and not fussy. They were pretty crowded (unlike the lunch the other day) and we finally got a table in the downstairs stone-walled room, as opposed to the light-filled upper room with great views. As it turned out, there was a table of about 14, including 4 couples and their combined six children—all appearing to be under the age of 6. They were there before us and outlasted us, when we left at close to midnight. So, we watched family life in Italy up close. Not to generalize, but…. The four men (all in their early 40s I’d guess) sat together at one end of the table conversing about who knows what (soccer?) oblivious to the rest of their table which was comprised of their wives/partners and their children. The women, the moms, were totally occupied with the kids who were very very loud and running around the restaurant. The moms barely ate as they tried to make some kind of order (without success), but the dads continued their conversation, eating, drinking, laughing, eating, so casually that you would think they were a separate party from the rest of their group. Indeed, the men had about two chairs that separated them from the women and the kids. We thought we might have some peace by the time we got our dessert but no such luck as the men (the dads) lingered over coffees, desserts, and after dinner drinks… while the women and the children were at the other end of the table, ready to leave with jackets already on. Not generalizing, but maybe the macho culture really still does exist –even among the 40-something group…. In Italy?? Oh the meal… food was fine, but could not compensate for the chaos… oh.. what did we eat: a very nice steak tartare with sprinkling of pistachio dust and good spices, leg of lamb with roman artichoke…

That’s it. Packing time. We leave Todi in the morning and head to Sienna, via Perugia where we’ll stop for a few hours for lunch and to walk around.
Arrivederci Todi.. .We shall return.

Best –
Fern