The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, or Duomo di Orvieto, is the main tourist attraction of the municipality. It is located in the center of the homonymous square and with its imposing size dominates the entire medieval village. The Cathedral is considered a marvelous example of Romanesque-Gothic architecture, a jewel of Italian history and art that has no equal.
Its construction was started in 1290 at the behest of Pope Nicholas IV and ended definitively only three centuries later, in 1591. The particularity of the cathedral lies in the fact that over 20 different artists worked on its construction over the centuries, but despite this however, the façade appears harmonious and balanced both in the decorations and in the forms. In fact, the artists kept to the predominant Gothic style of the structure without adding anything else.
In particular, the large Rosone dell’Orcagna stands out on the outside, placed at one hundred of the façade, the mosaics that decorate the cusps and the numerous bas-reliefs of the walls. The interior is equally decorated with frescoes and other works of sacred art. Entering the main door you are immediately struck by the spectacular wooden truss ceiling and the imposing marble column with white-green bands that delimit the three naves, large and very bright. Particularly beautiful is the Chapel of San Brizio, entirely frescoed by Signorelli, who celebrates the patron saint of Orvieto. Important is also the Chapel of the Corporal in which is preserved the bloody linen cloth of the miraculous Mass of Bolsena. The linen was stained when the host that the priest held in his hand during the celebration suddenly began to spur blood.
The best way to reach the Cathedral of Orvieto is to leave the car in one of the car parks outside the city and take the panoramic funicular that leads to the historic center.