Michael Jackson and the Antichrist in Orvieto

You know Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, when the dead come out of the graves? The contemporary horror genre has not invented anything: this fantasy was already conceived many centuries ago by the medieval collective imagination, and one of its most effective representations is due to Luca Signorelli, who between 1499 and 1504 painted the resurrection of the dead of the Judgment Day in the Chapel of San Brizio of the Cathedral of Orvieto. There we see the dead coming out from underground in the form of skeletons, and as they rise up they miraculously return to flesh, after which they are ready to learn the divine sentence which will absolve some and harm others; the reprobate regain a body (capable of suffering) only in view of eternal punishment.

The theme of the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment is a classic of medieval and Renaissance painting (we only think of the Sistine Chapel) while the depiction of the Antichrist is unusual for the time, and is probably a unicum in the painting of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. who speaks to the people in the public square: the character deceptively resembles Jesus, but behind him he has a devil who suggests in his ear what to say. Also this image, again by Signorelli, is of great impact, perhaps even more than the previous one, and leads us to reflect: how do we distinguish the true from the false? Or in more up-to-date terms, the reality of fake news?

Outside, the Cathedral of Orvieto is adorned with numerous bas-reliefs, and among these there is one that offers another unusual scene in sacred art: God is seen taking away a rib from sleeping Adam, and immediately after using it. to create Eve. It is surprising that God has nothing hieratic: He is portrayed as any man of his time and also looks quite young, rather than the mighty elder that most artists have accustomed us to. He is so human and so ordinary that he resembles Adam, he even looks like his brother. Perhaps we should not be too surprised: after all, the Bible says that God created Adam “in his image and likeness”, and it may be that the artist took the text literally.

Speaking of Giudizo Universale, Inferno, Paradiso, etc., the presence of Dante Alighieri in the Chapel of San Brizio is all the more opportune, making a show of himself with one of his most famous pictorial representations.

If you then turn your gaze upwards, the Cathedral of Orvieto offers various suggestive perspectives. As a whole, the church retains a medieval aspect (this is typical of Umbria, where the religious buildings have undergone, on average, less Renaissance, Baroque retouching, etc. than what has happened in other areas of Italy) even if the long arrangement the columns of a series of statues from another period alters the overall vision a little. On the walls there are precious pictorial remains of the very early life stages of this cult building. There is an important detail to add for the faith: here in the Cathedral of Orvieto the linen is preserved that was stained with the blood of a host, because the priest on the altar had doubted the truth of the Transubstantiation; that miracle occurred in 1263 (in Bolsena) gave rise to the feast of Corpus Domini, since then celebrated by the whole Catholic world.

This and much more is offered to the visitor and to the pilgrim in the Cathedral of Orvieto. But before getting there, you have to walk through the narrow streets of the historic center. The discovery is progressive: the great building promises to be seen from afar with an oblique view, and only at the last moment the view opens up in all its magnificence. It seems that in Rome it was the same effect of wonder to approach St. Peter’s when the square was surrounded by narrow streets and medieval houses, then Fascism leveled everything to create via della Conciliazione. Too bad, the glance was probably better before. Fortunately for us this beautiful effect has not been lost in Orvieto.

We point out that on the façade of the Cathedral of Orvieto also the Annunciation is depicted in an unusual way, because the Archangel Gabriel and the Madonna appear separate, in two physically distinct sections. It is yet another curious detail of this so unique Umbrian church.

For the visit to Orvieto we based in Scheggino (Perugia) at the Torre del Nera diffuse hotel. It is a hotel not housed in a single building, but distributed among the streets of a medieval village which, like others, was becoming depopulated as it lacked economic activities, but was revitalized by a renovation by the entrepreneurs from Bergamo. Giannattasio, active in chemistry but also in eco-sustainable tourism. The rooms, apartments, restaurant and other services of the Torre del Nera hotel overlook the ancient streets of the town, which also include a spa. From here all the historic towns of Umbria can be reached by car in times varying between half an hour and just over an hour.The hotel is immersed in the greenery of the Valnerina and both its atmosphere and the natural scenery in which it is inserted. they help the traveler to immerse himself immediately in the history and art of Umbria.