Orvieto: Following Freud's Footsteps and His Life-Changing Epiphany

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Teatro Mancinelli

   45min

   We meet here where I will give a broad outline of the places we shall visit and the effect that they had on Freud.

2. 2

   Piazza della Repubblica

   45min

   Palazzo Bisenzi off Piazza Repubblica was once the home of the Hotel Delle Belle Arti where Freud stayed on each of his three trips to Orvieto. Also, the Church of Sant Andrea with its remarkable fresco of St Julian the Hospitaller affected Freud.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   45min

   The well is 50m deep and a wonder of Renaissance architecture. After the cathedral, it has been the number two attraction since even before Freud's day. It is analogous to Freud's descent into his unconscious.

4. 4

   Stop 4

   1h

   Freud visited the Etruscan Necropolis whose house-like tombs so affected him that a dream he had about being buried in one, made its way into The Interpretation of Dreams. We stop for a coffee here at the Igloo Café.

5. 5

   Duomo di Orvieto

   45min

   You will be accompanied into the cathedral to see the End of the World frescoes by Renaissance artist Luca Signorelli that so influenced Freud that they led eventually to the discovery of the Freudian slip. We shall also see the fresco cycle illustrating the Miracle of Bolsena and the remarkable Baroque sculpture, The Pietà, by Scalza, both of which affected Freud.

Before you go

Location