Gialletti

Up to now I still don?t know if I liked the interior of Orvieto?s duomo or not. It certainly did not live up the expectations I had for the façade. Maybe it was too colourful inside, too many different styles and decorations? It is huge, of course; the outside shows already its rough dimensions. The white-bluegrey stripes are continuing inside and frescoes have been discovered at the walls during recent restoration. To the left is the famous Capella del Reliquiario del Corporale with a beautiful gold shrine with gemstones for the chalice cloth (corporal in Italian). And to the right is Capella della Madonna di San Brizio of early 15th century. Luca Signorelli and Fra Angelico painted here the famous frescoes cycle of the Last Judgement. These have an incredible three-dimensional space I never saw in any painting before. Photography is strictly forbidden inside, but luckily Wikipedia has good photos of some of these frescoes: antichrist, the damned are taken to hell, elect in paradise, resurrection of the flesh.

There is an entrance fee for the capella, payable at the little gate in front of it. It is 5 ?, but this includes entrance to Opera del Duomo museum at the back of the duomo.

The website I have linked below is also worth a look. It is a very detailed description of the interior of Orvieto?s duomo, by Texas couple Jane and Dick Schmitt.