Umbria, Italy

Italy 2024 Chapter 8 – Umbria. I had booked a Sunday morning train from Rome to Orvieto, but we were hearing about a possible rail strike looming. Once Sunday came, only certain trains were affected by the strike and others departed as usual. We returned to the Termini station and took the metro to Rome’s second train station at Tiburtina. We were early, found our platform and sat down and waited. Sure enough, our train was cancelled about half an hour before departure. I returned to the terminal and waited in the Trenitalia office for ninety minutes before finally speaking to someone who advised me to buy a ticket for the 9:30pm train. It was 11am, and I had a hotel booked in Orvieto and was to pick up a car rental the next morning from Orvieto. While waiting I was talking to other travellers, a family of four from England who were in the same situation as us, and an Irish couple who hadn’t bought tickets yet, they were staying in Rome and had just wanted to go to Orvieto for the day. The Irish couple went outside to ask about a taxi and reported back a taxi would be 300 euros for the one-hour drive. They decided against it and left.

By this time I had purchased tickets for the next train at 1pm as it was showing it was unaffected. The family of four was still waiting to speak to TrenItalia and were looking at taking a bus to Orvieto, but that bus didn’t depart until 10pm. We didn’t really want to get a hotel for another night in Rome or wait at the train station for 10 hours so I started looking at Uber. The app was showing 180-220 euros for the ride, we spent a few minutes weighing our options and then decided Uber was the best way. Unfortunately, it proved difficult to find a driver willing to take us. The time kept running out and we were left without a ride. On the fourth attempt, we finally found a driver willing to take us and after a few minutes, he arrived. In the end, we arrived in Orvieto only a few minutes later than originally scheduled and our driver dropped us fifteen steps from the hotel door as opposed to the half an hour's walk from the train station.

Once settled in the hotel we set out to explore this medieval city. Orvieto sits on a volcanic rock high above the surrounding Umbrian countryside. First settled by the Etrusians, then Romans and Goths, Orvieto has always been important due to its location between Rome and Florence. After the Middle Ages, Orvieto became an important part of the Papal states and features a magnificent cathedral whose design is similar to those found in Siena and Florence.

I had taken a train through Umbria before, but I’ve never stopped there. Umbria is very green and covered with lakes and forests and the cuisine features the surrounding nature. Wild Boar and truffles are stables on the menu here. I recall the Stanley Tucci episode while he was in Umbria of him participating in a wild boar hunt.

The next morning we were off by car to Assisi, famous for St. Francis of Assisi and its Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi. While walking down to the train station where our car was waiting. I spotted the Irish couple who had arrived by train. Hey, I said, you guys made it. We talked to them for a few minutes and they recognized my Kilkenny hurling hat as only Irish do. The drive through the rolling forested hills of Umbria was quite beautiful, but unfortunately, when we arrived in Assisi, there was a G7 conference there and we were unable to get close to the Basilica. We strolled around Assisi for a while, had lunch and drove to our next destination in Tuscany, Siena.