Another little town in Umbria that is made for strolling… As we drive into Orvieto there are grove after grove of silvery green olive trees that cover the rolling landscape of Umbria. I love that there are fresh olive presses around every other corner that beckon you to stop and explore. Once reached the cobbled streets of the town, we pass the shades of honey hued walls, I notice that the architecture is slightly different here. Many of the characteristic buildings are constructed out of tufo, a type of volcanic rock that leaves the surface a rough warm tone.  There is a great cozy vibrancy here, cute allies, tiny ceramics and pottery shops, numerous restaurants and a less touristy lifestyle considering it is only an hour away from Rome. Orvieto is a cute medieval town that dates back to the Etruscans that sits on a volcanic bed overlooking the surrounding lush Umbria. The drive here is stunning not only the olives trees, but tall svelte cyprus trees stand along well-kept paths that lead you to yellow stuccoed masserias just like in the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun“. The highlight of the town is the majestic 14th century Roman catholic cathedral Duomo di Orvieto, but I feel the real gem hides behind the traditional cuisine. The town praises about its porchetta, truffles, local wine (Orvieto Classico), an eggless pasta (umbrichelli) and wild boar (cinghiale).

We stumbled into an ally with the cutest trattoria and managed to get the last unreserved table as the restaurant was prepping for a busy lunch hour. We could hear the buzz from the kitchen and the low sun creeped between the streets and warmed us nicely despite being late september. You could detect the first signs of fall, the changes in colour of leaves and a few trees dropped the occational dry leaf here and there. As we sipped on local wine and nibbled on a country-style wild boar terrine bruschetta that fed our souls, the little town grew on us with its simplicity. The narrow alleyways often drapped with lots of vines that bathed in the strong fall sunlight attached to the buildings that had worn throughout centuries. We also indulged in some caramelized wild boar bacon, a classic farmers lemon roasted chicken (to die-for I might say) and Melanzane alla Parmigiana. We loved to soak in the essence of Orvieto, savor the flavors and left with amazing memories.