Travel in Italy and World

The “Piazza del Duomo” of Orvieto – Square of the dome

Filmed angle palace Soliano we reach the “Piazza del Duomo”, being in front of the southern flank of the cathedral.
From this secondary access to the square, the dome is not as announced by the other two main accesses (that the tortuous path of Cathedral and the route straight post on the extension of the cathedral), but from any part arrivals, isolation del Duomo in the square that surrounds it is almost obvious.

To increase the monumentality of the cathedral – and with it, even that of the square – compete on the one hand the houses of the canons and the ‘other the great bulk of the building Soliano (with the bishop’s palace on the bottom).
Partially pre-existing and partly coevo the Duomo is the totality of bishops and the papal palaces. A bishopric existing old from the twelfth century, renewed at the end of the century and early next by the bishops, was greatly expanded to impulse of some popes who risiedettero temporarily in Orvieto from 1262 to 1284, namely Urban IV, Gregory X and Martin IV.
For a compromise peace agreement of 1297 between Boniface VIII and the City was, instead, built the palace Soliano and work continued with few interruptions for more than half a century, that is the same as those of the cathedral.
All these buildings suffered heavy intervention of internal restructuring also visible all ‘external especially in the sixteenth century and only in the last century were, as they say,’ restored ‘involved in the original forms.

From the opposite side of the square pseudo array of houses of the canons ends on ‘corner of Via del Duomo with the tower of’ clock on which was installed in 1349 – perhaps the first example of regulation time working in a shipyard – the automaton bronze to be familiarly called ‘Mauritius’, for the assonance with the clock muriccio, namely the factory dome.
On the side of the square in front of the cathedral, but also adjusted slightly oblique to the facade, there are three palaces.
The palace dell’Opera del Duomo that, after a seventeenth-century accommodation of the first seat (1359), was enlarged on draft Virginio Vespignani (1857) and completed at the beginning of the twentieth century: in the palace is jealously preserved the archive of factory Duomo.
Alongside a palace private imprint scalziana and, besides the way, the palace (formerly Monaldeschi) that the accounts Faina renewed completely half century, making even decorate the main floor by a host of painters, among which almost certainly v ‘Hannibal was Angelini. The building has since 1957 established the foundation for the Museum C. Faina and recently restored, houses collections of archaeological and numismatiche family and Etruscan orvietani.

To close the square on the southern side the church of St. James Major and the hospital, existing buildings to the Cathedral but completely remade: the first in neo-classical forms is attributed to Valadier (1835) and the second, which we glimpsed the arches of entry, designed by Paul Zampi in recent years of ‘ Nineteenth century, confirms the eclecticism dominant architecture of that ‘era.