Orvieto Duomo
Rising from the tufa plateau like a jewelled reliquary, Orvieto's cathedral is one of the most breathtaking Gothic facades in all of Italy. No photograph fully prepares you for the moment it fills your entire field of vision as you cross Piazza del Duomo.
A Facade Worth the Journey Alone
Begun in 1290 to house the Corporal of Bolsena — a blood-stained cloth from a 13th-century Eucharistic miracle — the Duomo took three centuries to complete, and the effort shows in every gilded mosaic panel and bas-relief pillar.
The four massive pilasters are carved with scenes from Genesis and the Last Judgement, the work of Lorenzo Maitani, and are considered among the finest Gothic sculpture in Europe. Arrive at midday when the sun ignites the gold tesserae and the whole facade seems to vibrate with light.
The Cappella di San Brizio Inside
Inside, the real revelation is the Cappella Nuova, also called the Cappella di San Brizio, where Luca Signorelli painted his monumental fresco cycle of the Apocalypse between 1499 and 1504.
Michelangelo studied these frescoes before beginning the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the debt is unmistakable in the muscular, twisting figures of the damned. The chapel requires a separate ticket but is absolutely worth every euro.
Linger in the nave too, where alternating bands of black basalt and white travertine create the same hypnotic striped effect as the exterior walls.
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