We’re sitting on the patio in the late afternoon facing Orvieto having spent the day at the fabulous Marmore Falls about an hour away, just past Terni, the provincial capital of Umbria.
The Marmore Falls is a man-made waterfall created by the Romans in 200-ish BC. Its total height is 165 m (541 feet), making it the tallest man-made waterfall in the world, and the tallest waterfall in Europe. Of its 3 sections, the top one is the tallest, at 83 m (272 feet). Its source is a portion of the waters of the river Velino, and the rest of the river flows into a hydroelectric power plant (the largest plant in Italy). Its flow is turned on and off according to a published schedule, to satisfy the needs of tourists and the power company alike. We got there moment the horn sounded signally the gates were opening and we saw the flow over the falls go from a trickle to a torrent.
We were outside the whole time and surprised by the good size crowds mostly of families, although it was Saturday. Mary was taken aback by the beauty and majesty of the falls – “breathtaking experience, places Canada’s Niagara Falls in second” (the significance should not be lost as Mary is a Maid of the Mist veteran). Bob felt lucky with his timing as the flow commenced with our arrival!
We returned to the Villa and played some ping pong in our garden! What a beautiful garden surrounding Villa Ombrosa! There is even an outside dining room overlooking the pool – which is NOT heated! Mary worked on the blog while sitting on the terrace overlooking a still hazy view back to Orvieto.
We are in a very mountainous part of central Italy. Many of our plans have us going 30 to 40 miles one way that equates to 60 – 90 minutes by car. The roads are very windy, narrow, and steep with switchbacks, typical speed is 50 km/h. Of course, as tourists, we adhere to the speed limit which is but just guidance to locals. I don’t think Bob ever been passed so frequently on a road ever in his life.
We had dinner at a very local place, 5 minutes from our villa, high in the hills. We sat outside (as we have for every meal in Italy) at Il Ritrovo del Cacciatore and had salads, ravioli, 5 Fromaggi pizza, bottle of wine and gelato all for 36 Euros!!!! Guess we will be back!!!
Sunday, as the weather forecast has improved, and we are a little tired of driving too far off places, we are hoping for wine tasting at a winery 10 minutes away!