Orvieto is an old city which looks like the Etruscans found the steepest cliffs that they could and then built walls on top of them. Saturday afternoon, the town was quiet and foggy—old women in fur coats waddled up the hilly streets with arms full of bags from the markets.
The market itself was held under an old fortress and a church, with everything from household goods, food, clothes and flowers being sold there. It seemed as though everyone from the town was there, bartering and joking and buying oranges.
In the middle of the small town is a huge Duomo. The cathedral looks out of place near the little quaint shops and cafes and the gothic architecture seems an odd match with the rest of the Etruscan and Roman architecture.
The next day we went to Ostia Antica—a Roman city that was buried under silt. In Ostia Antica, you can wander around the ruins, have a picnic in an old temple, climb over the old funeral grounds… Barely anything is roped off, and even on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, there was nearly no one there.
Much of the city is incredibly well preserved: The floors of the bath houses, the ampitheatre near the main forum, some frescos and even the counter of the city bar—the entire place feels like a large archaeological playground.
