Orvieto Duomo

Last Tuesday I happened to turn on PBS in the middle of Rick Steves' travel program about Italy. Tufa rock...Signorelli...stone laid out in stripes----Orvieto! Suddenly I was back in Orvieto, following our friend Kyra down dark, narrow streets. We turned a corner and there, at the end of the street, a sliver of the Duomo glowed. The light reflecting off of the facade, with its gilded, brightly colored mosaics, nearly blinded me. We stepped into the sunlight and gaped at the church. This remains one of my most vivid travel memories. It takes very little to call it forth. There I am, once more walking down a dim street, about to be struck in the heart by a magnificent work of art.