There is a fair bit of statuary to see in Orvieto cathedral including this beautiful sculpture of St. John and the lion, right beneath the pulpit, because by tradition John’s Gospel was seen as the most heavenly, giving a birds eye view of the Gospel.
Contrasting with the colorful scenes above the high altar, including the stained glass, at the back wall of the cathedral we see this–
While this is not Michelangelo’s Pieta as found in St. Peter’s, it is a common representation of the taking down of Christ from the cross, and laying him in his mother’s lap. One assumes that the Joseph that is present in the scene is Joseph of Arimathea who buried Jesus in his own unused tomb.
Some of the columns towards the back of the cathedral have had to be braced over the centuries, like this one. One must remember this is an ancient cathedral in a medieval hill town, and its streets in the center of time remind us of this constantly.
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