Orvieto [antikvár]

OrvietoThe tourist who arrivés in Orvieto by rail or by road will see the town rising in the distance, set amid a beautiful landscape of fields and vineyards, and superbly situated on top of a volcanic outcrop, whose precipitous walls encircle it like a fortress dominatine the broad valley of the river Paglia.Due to its position, its Etruscan antiquities, the partly medieval appearance of its streets and above ali its famous Cathedral, a jewel of Gothic art, Orvieto is one of the most fascinating town in Italy. An important Etruscan city, identified by some with Volsinii veteres (or also Urbisvetus, old town, in contradistinction to Volsinii-novi, the neighbouring Bolsena), Orvieto also maintained its thriving economy in Roman times, based especially on the production of pottery.During the barbarian invasions, Orvieto was occupied by Alaric and Odoacer. Vitigis, in turn, exploited its strong naturai position to turn it into a defensive bastion in his war against the Byzantines under Belisarius, who succeeded in conquering it after a stubbornly-resisted siege in 538. Temporarily reoccupied by Totila bef ore the final Gothic defeat, Orvieto was later occupied by the Lombard Agilulf in 596. The town was granted its own bishop and, in 606, its own counts. A count of Orvieto, Farolf, as part of the religious revival promoted by the emperor Otto III, cooperated with St. Romuald in fostering the foundation of abbeys and monasteries in the surrounding territory.In the llth-12th century Orvieto set itself up as a Commune. The first towers, tower-houses and mansions of the nobility that moved from the countryside into the town began to arise. The Commune later rebelled against the papal governors installed to control it and engaged in lengthy struggles until it was finally recognised by Pone Hadrian IV.By 1137 Orvieto had already become an independent city-state and speedily became a prominent Guelph stronghold in Central Italy, repulsing the repeated attacks of Ghibelline exiles and the Hohenstaufen emperors Frederick I and Henry IV. The papal nomination of the first podesta (chief magistrate), the Roman Pietro Parenzo, dates to 1199; he was later killed during the internecine strife between the opposing factions of the Monaldeschi (Guelphs) and Filippeschi (Ghibellines) which continued unabated throughout the 13th century.In 1281-84, the French Pope Martin IV established himself in Orvieto, filling the town with his own fellow-citizens, against whom