Anello Della Rupe – Ring-path around the rock of Orvieto

Anello della Rupe is a path that goes around the entire rock of Orvieto, in a succession of hills that define the perimeter of the massive tufa rock on which the city rests. It is recommend to wear comfortable walking shoes on this path. There are several entrances to the path around town, the most popular is in Piazza Cahen, called “Le Piagge“. Walk down the street near the Fortezza Albornoz and cross the beautiful Porta Rocca. Along the path there are several maps indicating your spot and interesting facts about the scenery. Look for small wooden signs reading “percorso”, to follow the correct path around the entire rock.

After passing through the ancient gate, and take a left down the hill. You will come to a point where the path starts and you can go right or left, continue to the left, down the hill and go through a gate, always keeping the cliffs on your left. From here the road climbs up, and you will find yourself immersed in nature, like walking through a forest.

After a few more hills you will see a staircase with a wooden fence. Follow it and arrive at a pedestrian crossing: it is one of the two points where the path crosses a road with cars. Use caution crossing the road, since cars to go fast here. After crossing the road, continue along the path up hill towards the right. Soon on the right you will see the “roofs” of the ancient Etruscan tombs in the Necropolis del Crocifisso del Tufo. After the necropolis there is a small church built into a cave in the cliff on the left. There is a historical and legendary story telling of a US paratrooper landing accidentally here during WWII, and taking shelter in the cave.

Continuing along the path you will see pigeonholes in the cliffs, that were typically excavated in the Etruscan period for nesting birds. Walk through a gate and past the church of “Madonna del velo”, which has recently been refurbished.

Carefully walk past Porta Maggiore (it is hard to see the cars coming from the left), and walk past Foro Boario (a medieval aqueduct which continues beyond the foot of the cliff). Here you will cross the road for the second time, above a rotary. You will come to a large parking lot paved with tufa (Campo della Fiera parking), and below is a multistory car park, where you can take the escalators or lifts to the center of Orvieto. Walk through the parking lot, past the stairs going back to the street above, and continue down the path. After crossing a small hamlet of houses you will go through another gate.A few steps after the gate, the scenery opens up to reveal the Abbey “La Badia”, a former convent in the 1200’s with a beautiful tower. Above you in the cliff you can see pigeonholes and caves dug by ancient peoples. Continue along the path and pass through a fourth gate, soon you will see fortezza dell’Albornoz, the seat of the communal gardens, with immense walls of tufa rock, and small openings from the Middle Ages, used to defend the rock. To the left is also a natural cave containing fossil logs of 320,000 years ago. Continue below these walls, with the beauty of the imposing fortress in the background. From here you climb up an old cobbled street that runs along the wall. Take a left through the arch and up the hill to make your way back to Piazza Cahen.