Umbria · Terni
Orvieto
Etruscan Velzna on a 325-meter tufa butte, later a medieval refuge of popes.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 83.
The letter
Orvieto got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 14 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 19,196
- J10°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M23°
- J28°
- J32°
- A32°
- S26°
- O21°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Orvieto sits on a flat-topped butte of volcanic tuff, the cliffs 195 meters above the surrounding plain. The town began as Velzna, a flourishing Etruscan metropolis, and the Romans destroyed it in 264 BC. The medieval town that replaced it on the same plateau became a papal refuge in the 13th century, when popes left Rome for the safety of the height.
The town's layers sit one below the other rather than side by side: the cliff face is honeycombed with Etruscan and medieval cavities, cisterns and pigeon roosts cut into the same tuff that the necropolis at its foot was carved into during the 6th century BC, while the cathedral and its chapel occupy the surface above, and the well descends back down through the rock to reach water. What looks from a distance like a single stone crown is in fact three towns stacked in the same column of tuff: the dead below, the popes and their cathedral on top, and a passage cut straight through the middle to keep the town supplied.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 39 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 40 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 14 min or Siena 1 h 33 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Perugia? Orvieto is about 1 h 14 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Duomo di Orvieto
The polychrome marble façade rises in tiers of mosaic and sculpture, the decorative Gothic worked into bands of color rather than left plain stone.
Cappella di San Brizio
The Last Judgment fills the chapel wall to wall, figures twisting and falling across the vault and lunettes inside the cathedral.
Pozzo di San Patrizio
Sunk for Pope Clement VII, the shaft drops 53 meters, lit by windows cut into the walls of the two ramps so the descent is never dark. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger designed it to move water and mules at once, without either crossing the other's path.
Orvieto Underground
Tunnels, cisterns and pigeon roosts cut into the tuff cliff below the town, over 1,200 cavities mapped to date, layered from Etruscan into medieval use.
Necropoli del Crocifisso del Tufo
A grid of stone tombs at the foot of the cliff, laid out in regular streets, with inscriptions in Etruscan cut into the lintels above the doors.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
CoroRistorante
Coro has two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100), a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Da GregorioTrattoria
Da Gregorio carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand, plus two Gambero Rosso prawns.
I Sette ConsoliRistorante
I Sette Consoli has two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
7 more places the guides name in Orvieto
La PalombaRistorante
La Palomba carries a Slow Food snail, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
ArsoRistorante
Arso carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
Sale e PepeBistrot
Sale e Pepe holds one Gambero Rosso table.
Trattoria Da CarloTrattoria
Trattoria Da Carlo holds two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Altarocca Wine ResortHotel
Altarocca Wine Resort has a place in the Michelin hotel guide to its name.
Locanda PalazzoneHotel
Locanda Palazzone holds a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Palazzo PetrvsHotel
One Michelin Key, at Palazzo Petrvs.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Orvieto meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 19,196 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Terni, a city of 106,310, is 58 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 19,196, down 8% since 2015
- Nearest city Terni, 58 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,800 to €2,500 per m² to buy, €6.00 to €9.50 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 53% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 1 h 19 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 14 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 209 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are 315 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 27% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Terni province ranks 48th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Terni, 48 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 33 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Umbria spends about €2,310 a month, €550 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €677 a year for water, on the Umbria average. In Terni, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.22, a meal in a pizzeria €12.97 and a man's haircut €22.65.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 10% in a high or medium one. 2% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
THE DUOMO
Gothic cathedral begun 1290, Maitani's polychrome façade and Signorelli's San Brizio Last Judgment of 1499-1504, the cycle Michelangelo studied.
POZZO DI SAN PATRIZIO
Double-helix well of 1527-1537 by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, two spiral ramps so mules going up never met mules coming down.
ETRUSCAN VELZNA
Identified with the seat of the Fanum Voltumnae, federal sanctuary of the Etruscan League, destroyed by Rome in 264 BC.
Common questions
- What is Orvieto known for?
- Etruscan Velzna on a 325-meter tufa butte, later a medieval refuge of popes.
- Where is Orvieto?
- Orvieto is a comune in the province of Terni, in Umbria, at 325 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Orvieto?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 1 h 19 min by car.
- Can you get to Orvieto without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Orvieto?
- About 1 h 14 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Orvieto?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Orvieto?
- Velletri, Rieti and Tivoli.
- How many people live in Orvieto?
- 19,196 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Orvieto a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Orvieto is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Terni, is 58 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 53% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 325 m
- Population: 19,196
- Surface area: 281.27 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Orvieto appears in
- The 7 best towns on a walking route that sit inside a nature park in UmbriaUmbriainside a parkon a walking route7 towns · smallest 2,493 residents
- The best hill towns with a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of TerniNear Ternihill townwithin 90 minserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 3,452 residents · closest 33 min away
- The 8 best hill towns on a walking route within 90 minutes of TerniNear Ternihill townon a walking routewithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 426 residents · closest 18 min away
- The 8 best towns on a walking route that you can reach by train in UmbriaUmbriaon a walking routeby train8 towns · smallest 7,927 residents
- The best hill towns that live slowly in UmbriaUmbriahill townslow living8 towns · smallest 1,418 residents
- The best hill towns in the province of TerniTerni provincehill town10 towns · smallest 1,396 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 74.
Allerona
Province: Terni
A stone borgo at 472 meters between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, an Orvieto outpost whose Monaldeschi castle fell to Charles V.
28 min by car
- Written about. No. 80.
Montecchio
Province: Terni
A small hill commune at 377 meters above the Tiber, sitting on top of one of Umbria's largest Etruscan-tied necropolises.
34 min by car
- Written about. No. 72.
Todi
Province: Perugia
A walled hill town at 398 meters on the Tiber, with Etruscan, Roman, and medieval rings stacked one above the other.
26 km away
The letter
Orvieto got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.