Verdi At The Orvieto Cathedral

As we walked the nave it was obvious that some major event was unfolding in the chancel: risers, chairs, music stands, instrument cases, all kinds of sound and TV equipment. By the time we finished our tour of the cathedral, the whole symphony, chorus, soloists, technicians, stage hands, and others, had assembled. We sat for quite a while listening to the rehearsal of Verdi's Requiem Mass by the Teatro San Carlos symphony and chorus. That's the Naples opera, folks, the largest house in Italy, as I recall. I'm not a Verdi fan, but it was impossible not to be moved, even transported by such glorious music in such a glorious setting.

Favorites From Orvieto Cathedral

There's much to appreciate at this cathedral: the overall concept and architecture, the enormous west facade with its gorgeous sculpture and mosaics, the coloring, inside and out, the alabaster and stained glass windows, the chancel frescoes, the two major chapels with their sculptures and frescoes--and chiefly the "new" chapel, with its older frescoes by Fra Angelica and its newer ones, c. 1500, by Luca Signorelli. It is the last to which we always gravitate and linger in. This time, oddly, we had the whole chapel to ourselves for a few minutes. There was much else going on in the cathedral that afternoon. Next post. Again, see http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2017/11/orvieto-2017.html for previous posts on Orvieto and its cathedral.

West facade; best in Italy, for my money

There are lots of zebra churches in Italy, but only one Gothic/zebra; I think

Panning around the major scenes of Signorelli's frescoes: here, "Bad Stuff Happens,"
(my title) wherein bad stuff indeed happens, with Signorelli himself (left) looking on;
center right you have the Anti-Christ assisting Savanarola in addressing the throng

Heaven; the prancing around without (many) clothes looks like fun

These two panels constitute one of the walls; more stuff on the ceiling

Pix of famous (Italian) authors here and there

Opposite wall: Resurrection

Going to Hell

Personal favorite

The whole wall and half ceiling

Some of Fra Angelica's contribution up on the ceiling

What happens when you wear suggestive clothing to the
cathedral

Honoring the artist, Luca Signorelli

Doctors of Wisdom looking on

Now in the opposite chapel, telling the story of how the Doctrine of Transubstantiation
was proven in the 13th century

The relic of the proof is, wouldn't you know, under the table

The very famous "'Atta girl, Mom" mosaic in the chancel

Two Hours At Orvieto's San Giovenale

Sometimes one's desire to see old things, things that have stood the test of time, etc., can lead astray. In 2017, we determined to see this little church, constructed in 1004, with 12th century frescoes, etc. Unfortunately we got there just in time for the three-hour lunch break, but resolved to come back another time. This was that time. We arrived at 5:30PM, observing the church's closing time of 6:30PM, and feeling good about our prospects. Unfortunately, we were unaware that there was a daily mass from 5-6:30, no visitors allowed. (The tourist bureau really should post this rather than merely saying the church is open from 3:00 to 6:30.) (Oh well). So, at 5:30 we elected to wait out the mass, thinking it surely would be over by 6:00. Think again, pagan-breath; and don't call me Shirley. We sat out in the windy chill mostly, occasionally sticking our heads in the door to hear the priestly mumbo-jumbo and see whether the final amen was near. At 6:45, the two priests and two nuns and perhaps twenty parishioners finally gave up. Vicki plopped a coin in the Divine Illumination Machine (DIM) while the amen was still echoing off the 11th century walls, and I began snapping pix of the frescoes, the best of which appear below. All in all, it was not so great, but at least we have the immense satisfaction of knowing there will be no third try for San Giovenale.

Note KKK types

The Maesta; methinks

Mini-Me

Orvieto Scenes, 2019

We left Rome via the western ring road, encountering little traffic and drove north, through familiar sites, like the Etruscan tombs at Sutri, making our way to long-time hill-town favorite, Orvieto. We spent a pleasant and memorable afternoon and evening in the town, the night in the large sosta below. Previous posts on Orvieto are listed at http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2017/11/orvieto-2017.html. I'm sure the pix here and in the succeeding posts will contain some duplicates. Orvieto is one of the more photogenic places in Italy, if not Europe, and it's hard to resist.

Orvieto, from a nearby overlook

Big mountains in the distance to the east, still snow-covered

Looking across the valley to the cathedral

And, thanks to the funiculare and the bus, there we are,
before the best gothic/zebra cathedral there is

Interior; 2 more posts to come about our cathedral experience that day

Now walking the upper city, to the north end the little chiesa San Giovenale,
where were were thwarted in 2018; yet another Orvieto post

Note boar's head

There's hardly a block without a bench or some other interesting seating arrangement

At this point, in the Medieval section, fit only for Smart
cars or Fiat 500s, there's a helpful signpost for the freeway
and Rome

Rooftop view

I know I've posted this before, probably more than once; just an apartment building,
but beautiful and so, um, Italian

Restaurant of the cave, down there, carved into the rock

Looking back to the hillside overlook

After two hours at the little chiesa, we walked all the way
back to the cathedral, and then to the funiculare to the sosta;
so Italian