Orvieto is a good choice for the day after a marathon because it largely removes the question of how much you can walk. The train drops you at the valley floor, a funicular takes two minutes to carry you to the town on the plateau, and from there the historic centre is compact and mostly level. There is no significant gradients once you are up. That matters on legs that have just covered 42.195 km.
Trains from Roma Termini run throughout the day; some are regional services stopping at all stations (around 1 hour 30 minutes), others are faster Frecciabianca connections (around 1 hour 5 minutes). Book the faster service in advance on Trenitalia if the journey time matters. The funicular at Orvieto station runs continuously and costs around €1.30; a combined funicular and old-town bus ticket is available at the station.
April in Orvieto brings light tourist numbers by Italian standards, cooler temperatures than Rome in July, and the cathedral's striped marble facade in spring afternoon light.
The Cathedral
The Duomo di Orvieto on Piazza del Duomo is the reason most people come, and it earns that status. Work began in 1290 to house a relic from the Miracle of Bolsena; the facade, added and extended over the following two centuries, is one of the most elaborate Gothic frontages in Italy. The bas-relief carvings across its lower panels, the mosaics above, and the alternating horizontal bands of white travertine and dark basalt take some time to move through rather than past.
The interior contains two notable chapels. The Cappella del Corporale houses the relic the cathedral was built around. The Cappella di San Brizio contains a fresco cycle by Luca Signorelli depicting the Last Judgement, painted between 1499 and 1504 and widely acknowledged as one of the most significant fresco programmes of the Italian Renaissance. Entry to the cathedral is free; the Cappella di San Brizio requires a ticket (approximately €5, combined with the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo).
The Tufa Caves
Orvieto sits on a plug of volcanic tufa, and over two thousand years the rock beneath the town has been carved into a network of cellars, wells, dovecotes and storage chambers by successive inhabitants, Etruscan, medieval and Renaissance. The Orvieto Underground tour departs from near the cathedral several times daily and runs approximately 45 minutes through accessible sections of this network. It is entirely flat and requires no particular physical effort. Advance booking is recommended in April; the tour sells out on weekends. Cost approximately €6.
Food and Wine
Orvieto's food tradition is based on truffles (both black and the prized white), wild boar, cured meats and broad pasta shapes. The wine, Orvieto Classico, is the region's DOC white, produced from Grechetto and Trebbiano grapes in the vineyards immediately around the town. It ranges from dry to sweet (the traditional abboccato style), and buying a bottle from a local producer rather than a supermarket is worth the small effort.
For a simple post-race dinner, the restaurants on and around Via del Duomo and Corso Cavour are the most accessible. Portions are substantial and service rarely rushed. Several trattorias offer a fixed-price tourist menu that is adequate without being exceptional; a short walk off the main drag finds better cooking for similar money.
Getting Back
Trains from Orvieto back to Roma Termini run through the afternoon and evening. Book the return journey before leaving Rome to protect the best fare. The funicular back down to the station runs until late; check the last departure time with the ticket office before going out for dinner.