Wender·Vista
Orvieto Cathedral
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
on a tufa cliff in southern Umbria

Orvieto Cathedral

— a striped façade above the Umbrian plain.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The Duomo of Orvieto stands at the highest point of a tufa cliff in southern Umbria, its banded façade of basalt and travertine visible from the valley below. Construction began in 1290 under Pope Nicholas IV and continued for three centuries. Inside, the Cappella di San Brizio holds Luca Signorelli's Last Judgment frescoes, the work Michelangelo studied before painting his own.

from the studio
Orvieto Cathedral
— bring it home

Orvieto Cathedral, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Orvieto Cathedral

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Orvieto Cathedral, the Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta, sits on the volcanic tufa plateau of Orvieto in the Province of Terni, southern Umbria. Construction began in 1290 under Pope Nicholas IV, drawing on plans attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio and later directed by Lorenzo Maitani. The work continued through the sixteenth century. The cathedral was raised in part to house the Corporal of Bolsena, a relic associated with a 1263 Eucharistic miracle in the nearby town of Bolsena, about 20 kilometres south.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the stone

The façade is built of alternating bands of dark basalt and pale travertine, both quarried from the surrounding volcanic country. Lorenzo Maitani's bronze symbols of the four Evangelists, fixed at the base of the façade between 1325 and 1330, are among the earliest large-scale bronzes of the Italian Gothic. The mosaic panels of the upper façade were replaced through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and most current panels date from that later programme. The rose window, by Andrea Orcagna, was completed in the 1350s.

— the visit

The cathedral is open to visitors most days outside major liturgical services, with a single admission ticket covering the nave and the Cappella di San Brizio. The Opera del Duomo, the cathedral works office, manages hours and ticketing through its visitor centre opposite the façade. The Cappella di San Brizio frescoes by Luca Signorelli, painted between 1499 and 1504, are the chapel's main draw. Orvieto sits on the Florence-Rome rail line, with a funicular climbing from the station to the old town on the cliff.

— where
Italy · Orvieto, Province of Terni, Umbria
— elevation
325 m · 1,066 ft
— position
42.7174° N · 12.1130° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
17 km W
Civita di Bagnoregio
hilltop village
20 km S
Bolsena
lakeside town
36 km NE
Todi
hilltop town
N
Orvieto Cathedral
Civita di Bagnoregio
Bolsena
Todi
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Orvieto Cathedral — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Construction began in 1290 under Pope Nicholas IV and continued through the sixteenth century. The façade, by Lorenzo Maitani and later masters, was largely complete by the late fourteenth century.

Luca Signorelli painted the chapel's Last Judgment cycle between 1499 and 1504, completing work begun by Fra Angelico in 1447. The cycle influenced Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Last Judgment.

The façade alternates bands of dark basalt and pale travertine, both quarried locally from the volcanic country around Orvieto. The contrast is characteristic of central Italian Gothic church fronts of the period.

The Corporal is a bloodstained altar cloth associated with a 1263 Eucharistic miracle reported at Bolsena. It is housed in the cathedral's Cappella del Corporale, in a silver and enamel reliquary completed in 1338.

Orvieto sits on the Florence-Rome rail line, about an hour and a quarter from Rome Termini. A funicular runs from the train station up the tufa cliff to the old town, where the cathedral is a short walk.

Plans are traditionally attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio. Lorenzo Maitani took over the façade in 1310 and directed it for two decades. Andrea Orcagna completed the rose window in the 1350s.

— about the piece in your home

For a traveller who climbed the funicular and saw the façade catch afternoon light, the tile carries the specific memory. A Small for a desk or a Medium for an entryway both read clearly.

The striped façade and gold mosaics suit traditional and transitional interiors, jewel-tone maximalist rooms, and gallery walls built around European travel art. It pairs well with walnut frames and warm white walls.

Yes. The current grand-tour revival in interiors favours specific places over generic Italian motifs. The tile reads as a real cathedral rather than a stylised piazza scene, which fits the trend.

A single Large anchors a sofa wall. A 4-tile Mural extends across a longer console, and a 9-tile Mural suits an entry or stairwell where the façade can run vertically.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for kitchen splashbacks or bathroom walls. Both resist scratches and humidity while keeping the gold mosaic range of the artwork legible.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough for regular cleaning. Avoid abrasive pads and acidic sprays. The colour lives inside the ceramic surface and will not fade with normal care.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio and hand-finished in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license imagery from outside artists. Each tile is composed individually.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada