Orvieto the Etruscan
The cliff of Orvieto was inhabited since
the IX-VIII century B.C. by Etruscan populations. But it's only beginning from
the VI century B.C. that the ancient
Velzna gets a real economic
dominion, thanks to the workmanship of the bronze and the ceramics production.
The expansionist politics of
Rome finds in Velzna a brave adversary, up
to when in the III century B.C., last among all the italic populations, is
forced to surrender. The city was destroyed, as well as the Etruscan
civilisation. The inhabitants of Velzna moved to the proximity of the lake of
Bolsena where the
Nuova Volsinii rose. Velzna becomes
Volsinii - Veteres or also
Urbis Vetus (old city).
Temple of the Belvedere
Discovered in 1828, next to the
Well of
St. Patrick, it probably goes back to the V century B.C. Today the plinth,
the stairway and the base of four columns are visible.
Necropolis of the Crucifix of Tufo
It's dated back to the VI century B.C. but
was used up to the III century A.C., and owes its name to the work of an
anonymous that during the '500 engraved a crucifix on the tufa. The necropolis
is composed by a team of around seventy graves, uniforms in the sketch and in
the dimensions.
Necropolis of Cannicella
Other Etruscan site devoted to the burial
and the cult of the corpses, traced back to the VII century B.C. In the
proximity of the area a small statue was recovered, known as the
Venus of
Cannicella, representing a woman (probably a goddess), today guarded at the
Faina Museum.
Graves Golini
In
Settecamini the archaeologist
from Orvieto
Domenico Golini discovered in 1863 two splendid Etruscan
graves that today bring his name. They are two sepulchres, dug in the subsoil
and painted in the walls, that date back to the second halves the IV century
B.C. The painted images describe scenes illustrating the passage of the corpses
in the hereafter.
Hescana Graves
This site is near
Porano, and it
has walls representing scenes of the passage of the dead from the world of the
alive to the world of the corpses.
The wells of Orvieto
-
The Well of St. Patrick.
At the end of Viale
Sangallo opens
there the entrance to the
Well of St. Patrick, a bold work of
engineering wanted...
The museums of Orvieto
-
Orvieto Underground .
The charm of Orvieto is spectacularly reflected in its
subsoil, and for a city that shines into the light of the sun, there is an...
The Papal Buildings
-
Orvieto has a complex of three residences,
which during the XIII century have entertained the pontiffs
Urbano IV,
Gregorio X and
Martino IV. .
The medieval Buildings
-
Palazzo del Popolo.
It's the building of the
Capitano del
Popolo, realised around the end of the XIII century. The lowest part of the
building was ...
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