Author's posts of Salvatore Tony Spiga

The Church of Saints Andrea and Bartolomeo

The Collegiate Church of Saints Andrea and Bartolomeo, better known as the Church of Saint Andrea, in its current appearance is the result of the integral restoration carried out between 1926 and 1929 according to the project of Gustavo Giovannoni who restored what was remained of the original medieval building, reinvented the upper part of […]

The oxen market

The oxen market, today a parking lot, was built in 1874 by the engineer Paolo Zampi, director of the Town Planning Office. The work, important for the development of the agricultural economy, was part of a larger reorganization project for access to the city through the Porta Romana and aimed at obtaining a large flat […]

Necropolis of Vallone San Lorenzo

The Umbrian-Etruscan Necropolis of Vallone San Lorenzo is located between Montecchio and Baschi in the Tiber River Park, along the slopes descending towards the San Lorenzo stream, a small tributary of the river. It is one of the largest pre-Roman necropolises discovered in Umbria so far, which testifies to the existence of a thriving center, […]

Umbrian-Etruscan necropolis of Vallone San Lorenzo

Ring of the Granaro and of the Bucacce – Allerona

Capretta Colonnetta Osarella ring

The ruins of “Conventaccio”

A few kilometres from the Monte Nibbio pass, in a dominant position over the Chiani valley in the direction of Orvieto, are the ruins of the ‘Conventaccio’. Of the imposing structure, whose original function is unknown, we can see the remains of a quadrangular wall, built with square ashlars of grey stone arranged in regular […]

Porta Postierla, renamed Soliana or the Rocca

Tutti gli articoliPORTA ROCCA To the early twentieth century traveler Olave Potter the entrance to Orvieto through Porta Maggiore was anything but cheerful, for the arch was gloomy and the road within dark and steep. Porta Rocca, located at the very tip of the tufa mass, almost seems suspended over the underlying valley through which […]

the ruins of the ‘Conventaccio’

A few kilometres from the Monte Nibbio pass, in a dominant position over the Chiani valley in the direction of Orvieto, are the ruins of the ‘Conventaccio’. Of the imposing structure, whose original function is unknown, we can see the remains of a quadrangular wall, built with square ashlars of grey stone arranged in regular […]

The parish church of Bagni

The parish church of S. Giovanni Battista is located in the upper part of the village of Bagni, along the road that leads from Orvieto to Ficulle. The church is part of a complex of buildings, including the rectory house. It has a simple plastered façade ending in a tympanum and has a round-arched portal […]

church of the Good Jesus

The church is close to the monastery of the Poor Clares and was built thanks to a bequest of Muzio Cappelletti, a rich merchant of Allerona. The laying of the first stone took place on June 19, 1618 in the presence of Bishop Giacomo Sannesio and the consecration in 1740 by Bishop Giuseppe dei Conti […]

Church of Saint Bernardino

Along the Via Soliana is the church of San Bernardino, an important example of Baroque architecture in the city of Orvieto. The church is grafted into the little space left free between the pre-existing Palazzo Crispo Marsciano and the rooms of the monastery that, together with the adjoining oratory, was founded starting from 1462 at […]

Poggio Montone and its history

Poggio Montone, a hamlet of the Municipality of Orvieto known for the calanco that takes its name, is located in Montone[1]. Until the last decade of the nineteenth century, it had a part in a hilly position, Poggio Montone, and a part in a flat area, Pian Montone, a toponym that has now disappeared. Despite […]

Cliff and man-made caves

Cliff and man-made caves The southern side of the Cliff, with the many man-made cavities that open onto the valley below, gives us a chance to see what is hidden inside the volcanic mass on which the city stands. Originally these caves did not communicate directly with the outside world but as time passed parts […]

The Cave of the “Fossil Tree Trunks”

The Cave of the “Fossil Tree Trunks” The Cliff of Orvieto contains countless treasures and one of the most fascinating is the evidence of a far-distant past, way before man appeared on the scene. In some of the caves in the sides of the tufa cliff there are cylindrical cavities, some in a vertical position, […]