Orvietio

Today as we left Assisi, our tour guide, Isabella, kept counting and counting the pilgrims on the bus, and by the third time she realized that two of our pilgrims were missing. We had to turn around -- not an easy feat on those narrow mountain roads -- and Isabella hiked up the hill to our hotel to find the missing pilgrims. They boarded the bus, and we were finally on our way to Orvieto.

Orvieto is an Umbrian hill town very high up from the main road. It was the site of a eucharist miracle in the 12th century, and a cathedral was built there to commemorate the miracle. After parking the bus, we had to first ride a funicular up the hillside and then take a shuttle bus to the town square. The cathedral dominates the square and is a beautiful building made of striped marble with much carving and beautiful sparkling mosaics. Unfortunately, much of the facade was covered with scaffolding, so it wasn't possible to see it in its entirety. Here are pictures with and without the scaffolding for comparison.

We celebrated mass in a small grotto below the main cathedral, and then we toured the main cathedral. Apparently while we were there, the archbishop was also inside along with a couple of cardinals and some carabinieri, so we had to be on our best behavior.

It was then time for lunch with a little free time afterward for shopping. Unfortunately many of the shops were closed either because it was Monday or maybe because it was time for siesta. The streets of the town, though, were quaint and charming, so it was a pleasant setting for strolling and eating gelato.

After navigating our way back down the hill, we were off to Rome, and we arrived in a couple of hours. Today was a relaxing, low-key day, which is good because we are now preparing for a very early morning mass tomorrow at St. Peter's in the Vatican.