Italia: Orvieto and Maramore's Falls

    Every day, we check the weather. Every time we check it, we see the same thing: Sunny every day... except today. Today is supposed to rain around 1p. Darn. It's difficult to come up with good ideas for what we can do on a rainy day. Orvieto is a city that is supposed to have underground caves that we can explore, so we decided that today would be a good day for that.
    Orvieto is an old city dating back to the 6th century BCE, when the Etruscans lived there. Build on top of volcanic material, the land that the city rests on is soft. Far below the surface is a supply of water. During the 3rd century BCE, Rome besieged the city, cutting off Orvieto's water supply. In response to this, the Etruscans dug wells that were about 3x4 ft, and well over 100 ft deep to tap into the water beneath the soft, volcanic material.
    Over time, with different cultures coming and going, the soft material below the city was continually dug out. Materials for bricks, wine cellars and "refrigerators", homes for farm animals, olive oil production and even bomb shelters in WWII wera all reasons to dig out the more than 1200 caves beneath Orvieto. Even today, many of the people's homes still have passages that go to private, functional caves for them to use.
    As we explored the caves, we came to appreciate in a new way just how impressive people of this time were. Looking at the work that they accomplished more than 2000 years ago, we still don't know for a certainty how they did it. The wells are incredibly deep and narrow. They are a true testament to what man was able to accomplish. Like many things in Italy, it shows that, even though we may have come a long way in some aspects, man today has taken large steps backwards in skills and ability. As time went on, more caves were dug. Today, the caves still exist. The tools and presses used to make olive oil in around the 14th century are still there today to see.

    Also in Orvieto is Orvieto Duomo. This is amazing to look at, as it is covered in intricate carvings and designs. Today, it is still used. Meg and I spent some good time looking at it. When we tried getting in the first time, it was closed due to mass being held at the time. We came back when it was open to see inside, but there was an entrance fee. We didn't feel comfortable paying the church, so we didn't get to see much inside. Oh well.

    We climbed the clock tower, and we got an amazing view of the city and surrounding land. We came across a giant street market for chocolate, and we may have bought some chocolate liqueurs... The chocolate was in so many unique shapes! We really tried to think of a way to get it home without it breaking.

    Orvieto is also known for wine, so we had to buy some if it's classic white wine. We know why it's well known. Really good. We also had what was the best meal of the entire trip, so far at a restaurant called La Pergola. We couldn't get enough of the food and wine, especially the food... Meg got gnocchi with pancetta and a spinach and truffle sauce. I got umbricelli pasta in an arrabbiata sauce. I don't know who's was better, but I'll say this: I forgot how much I love arrabbiata sauce... If you go to Orvieto, go to La Pergola.

    As the day was ending in Orvieto, we never came across any rain. It was a nice surprise. But we had finished the city somewhat fast because we wanted to make sure we got to Maramore's Falls today. Maramore's Falls is the world's largest man-made waterfall, built originally by the Romans. Today it is used to generate electricity, but only runs at full capacity for a few hours a day. So, you need to time your visits right if you want to see the falls when they're worth seeing.
    Because of planning issues, though, we got there when the falls were not running, and had to wait til 8p to see them. So we went to get dinner, but had to search for a restaurant that was open at 6:30. Finally we found a pizza place and sat down to eat. It tooks forever. Eventually, it was past 8p, and the falls only ran til 9p. We had to tell them to change our pizza to be to go, and we left without eating them. We rushed to the upper part of the falls and got to see them, having just enough time to head down to the lower part of the falls and see them too. I know Meg really wanted to see them, and I was afraid that it wasn't going to work out. It not only worked out, but id was everything that we wanted it to be. A perfect ending to another great day in Italy.