Orvieto city of wine

Orvieto stands at 325 m on a tuff cliff above a valley shaped by the Vulsini volcanic system. The Etruscans called it Velzna and vinified inside tuff caves, using their humidity and stable temperature. Grapes were pressed and began fermenting in warmer areas near the exterior; the later fermentation and maturation stages took place in separate spaces.

A third-century BCE text attributed to Aristotle called Orvieto Oinarea, the city where wine flows. Wine later formed part of payment requested by Pinturicchio and Signorelli for work in Orvieto Cathedral. Vine motifs decorate the cathedral façade, while representations of Bacchus appear in frescoes and sculptures on prominent buildings.

During Orvieto’s long period within the Papal State, papal appreciation led to its wine becoming known as the “Wine of the Popes.” Vineyards once grew even on the cliff: a large one stood behind the cathedral, and the tract from Piazza Cahen beyond the church of the Servants of Mary was known as the “great vineyard.”

Later stories connect Orvieto wine with Garibaldi’s toast to Italy’s good fortune and with Gabriele D’Annunzio’s description of it as the sun of Italy in a bottle.