The tufa cliff from Crocifisso del Tufo

Nobody photographs Orvieto properly from inside it. The picture that explains the town is from the valley, where the tufa plug rises in one unbroken orange-grey wall and the houses sit on the lip of it as if they had been placed there.

The road below the northern side, by the Etruscan necropolis of Crocifisso del Tufo, is the easiest place to get it. The necropolis itself is a grid of small stone tomb-houses from the sixth century BC, cut into the base of the same rock — a strong foreground if you want one.

Morning light comes across the valley onto this face, so the cliff is lit and the town above it stands clear; by afternoon the same wall is in shadow and the shot flattens. Winter and spring, when the trees are bare, open the view further.

It is a road with a verge rather than a viewpoint, so park properly and stay off the carriageway. The necropolis is fenced and ticketed with its own hours; the cliff view from the road is free at any time.