Loss of Focus

Yesterday was spent visiting the town of Orvieto, about an hour and half drive north of Roma. Its a lovely town built on one of the volcanic outcroppings that dot the landscape as you head up the autostade towards Firenze. What makes it different from the others was a miracle in nearby Bolsena in 1263 the effects of which the enterprising Archbishop of Orvieto had transferred to the town. This led to the enlarging of the Cathedral and ultimately in the 15th century the decorating of the Capella di San Brizio by Luca Signorelli. Its considered his masterpiece - and we were lucky, we had the chapel all to ourselves. The grotesques alone would be worth one of those lovely coffee table books.

Understandably photographs are not allowed inside the chapel. However I was able to get a few shots of the glorious facade of the Duomo and its rose window.

And those are probably the last photos I'll take with this trusty little Canon PowerShot that I've been trudling around Europe since our arrival.
About 30 seconds after I took these it went crashing to the cobblestones and though you can't quite see it in this photo (taken with my very old Kodak digital) the retractable lens was pushed out of alignment. No amount of gentle coaxing can get it back into place. I'm going to try and find a repair shop but given how these things are put together I'm not hopeful.

17 febbraio - Santi Sette Fondatori dell'Ordine dei Servi della Beata Vergine Maria whew!