Day 5 - Monday, October 3 - Baschi and Orvieto

Orvieto Duomo


We had to have our bags packed and outside by 7:30 when we went for breakfast, then on the bus by 8:20.

It took about two hours with a quick stop at the AutoGrill which featured in addition, friendly goats and geese. The road was quite winding as we went up and back down over a mountain range. We went to Chef Lorenzo's family farm Casale Polegri for a cooking lesson.

Chef Lorenzo is quite renowned, having worked as a chef in the US and cooking at the Obama and Trump White House. He came back to the farm to open an "agri-tourismo", featuring cooking classes, accommodations and a vineyard. 

He is quite a dynamic character - you can easily imagine him running a TV cooking show. The 18 of us prepared mushroom and chickpea soup, focaccia, pizza, potato gnocchi and chocolate mousse.  The preparation was accompanied with copious amounts of white wine. The food turned out very well considering the number of cooks involved.😁😁😁

From there it was a short drive the city of Orvieto where we stopped at the parking lot at the base of the mountain and took 4 escalators inside the mountain to where it came out a short distance from our hotel, the Palazzo Piccolomini.

Orvieto is situated at the top of a butte of volcanic tuff and has been occupied since the iron and bronze age, first by the Etruscans, then the Romans from about 200BC and later by medieval Europeans. It was briefly the home of the pope in the 12th century when there was conflict going on in Rome. 

It is most famous for the huge Duomo built in 1290 to hold a very special religious relic, the altar cloth which had a drop of blood which fell miraculously from the communion "host". The Duomo is magnificent, both inside and out. The front of the cathedral has 4 intricate towers and is covered with gold-leaf  highlighted frescoes and many carved statues. Particularly notable inside are the frescoes of Luca Signorelli who is famous for introducing very realistic human figures as seen below.

After a short tour of the city, we went to a brewpub down a small side alley where we enjoyed locally brewed beer and snacks.

Luca Signorelli's frescoes


Amy making whipped cream for mousse

Anna working with Chef Lorenzo
Ann

Carmen preparing mousse with Chef Lorenzo

David chopping cilantro for soup

Enjoying the final product

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