Orvieto + Montefalco Italy
One of my favorite cities in all of Italy. It’s our second time to Orvieto. We visited last May 2018 and we liked it so much that we wanted to go again. It has a walled city that sits up high and you can see it when you drive up from a distance. It really is a spectacular view and worth a visit if you come to the Umbria region. We stayed at the same resort called Altarocca Wine Resort. Even in the winter, it is still beautiful. When you drive up to the resort, the rolling hills are incredible especially when we went last time when all of the foliage was green and the flowers were blooming.
Perticaia winery in Montefalco, Italy
We drove up on a Saturday and stopped at the grocery store to find some fresh pasta to cook since we had a kitchen. We had a nice view of the pool and the rolling hills that look just like Tuscany and actually I think it is more stunning than the place we stayed at in Montalcino, Tuscany.
The next day, Sunday, we went to Montefalco to do some wine tasting. The reason we went to Montefalco is because of the Sagrantino grape and it has earned the highest ranking DOCG wine denomination. Although and interestingly, they are less known outside of Italy. We went to Perticaia winery that was recommended by a friend. We were immediately greeted by the sommelier and she was great. We had a wine tasting and a small tour of the winery. Overall a fun wine experience, but not as nice as Montalcino or places in the south like Mastroberardino or Feudi di San Gregorio. We had lunch afterwards in the piazza of Montefalco at Locanda del Teatro, which was a divine experience. Interestingly, this piazza did not have a church, which is pretty much unheard of in Italy. We made it back in the evening to Orvieto just in time for my massage appointment!
Duomo di Orvieto from May 2018
The following day was New Year’s Eve and we had a nice relaxing day. We had reservations that evening at the hotel restaurant called Altarocca Invinum. In Italy, they always have fixed menus for New Years and almost every other holiday. It started between 830-9pm and we arrived at 9pm. Surprisingly, a lot of people were already there and eating. The year before we had NYE at an agriturismo in Basilicata and things were started a little later and bit more wild with a live band. We were happy to have a quieter evening even though it does go pass midnight. It is the norm for Italians to eat with their families until midnight and then they go out afterwards. Talk about a late night! In our #familylife we aren’t staying out that late, so we were happy to go home right after midnight.
On New Year’s Day we tried to go to the Civita di Bagnoregio which is the known as “the dying city.” It was very crowded because it was a holiday, so we will have to catch it next time. We also didn’t make it inside to the walled city of Orvieto this time around. Although the duomo is gorgeous and worth making a trip inside to see.
