On our way to Venice we stopped at a town called Orvieto. It is built on a hill/rock which seems to stand in the middle of a flat plain. We took a funicular up to the town and had a brief walk around. We were in time for the underground caves tour. Under the city there are a huge number of caves which were used over the ages for various purposes. At first wells were dug from the surface for water. Later they dug reservoirs underground to collect rainwater which was much more beneficial. They were constantly worried about being attacked and having outside supplies stopped so plenty of storage was required. Caves were used for mining (this had to be controlled carefully so that the city above didn't collapse) and for workers in industries such as olive pressing. There was limited space above ground so these underground caves provided excellent working areas. We could still see the areas where they would grind and press the olives to get the oil.
In later times the caves near the outside of the hill where used for keeping pigeons. They could fly in and out as they pleased and provided a large supply of food for the people.
Tonight we stayed in Mestre, a town on the mainland near Venice.
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