Orvieto and its territory
Art and history
In a barycentric position among the roads linking Florence with Rome there is the territory of Orvieto constituted of greatly charming towns. Allerona is a feudal castle with two doors called "Door of the Sun" and "Door of the Moon". Its clay mines near the hamlet of the Scalo are interesting sites of fossil finds. Baschi, of probable Etruscan origins, was densely populated in the Roman times and the finds discovered are numerous.
The powerful Ghibelline seigniory of the Baschi, that participated to the fights against the Guelphs, ruled with this free town. Parrano is another really important site from a historical point of view. It is a picturesque historical centre lying around a medieval castle. In the nearby "Grotte del Diavolo", some important pre-historic finds of the early Paleolithic period and of the Bronze Age have been found. San Venanzo rises on Mount Peglia and it is the nearest town to the territory of Perugia in the area of Orvieto. It is a medieval centre where, in a not distant past, the Counts Faina have come to live in a Villa that is the municipal seat today.
Some remains of ancient castles can be admired in the hamlets of san Vito in Monte, Civitella, Collelungo, Rotecastello and Poggio Aquilone. Historically, the territory of Orvieto was wider, especially in the Middle Ages when it reached its biggest extension with the city-state of Urbsvetus, going from the Tiber to the Tyrrhenian sea through a transversal zone. Orvieto's landscape is unique in its genre.
Here, the characteristic volcanic environment where steep basalt and tuff formations slope down to smooth hills and to the alluvial planes, and the clayey erosion furrows climb up to the mountainous outposts of the Apennines.