Assisi and Orvieto

If I understand you correctly, you're only going to spend a total of two nights in Rome. Is this your first trip to Italy? If so, I would save Orvieto for another trip. It's lovely, but Assisi is amazingly beautiful and shouldn't be given short shrift. Rome deserves a lot more than two nights, so don't shave even more time off of it by trying to cram in a trip to Orvieto. You're running the risk of trying to do too much while in Italy at the risk of not enjoying the places where you'll be.

I agree with Michael. Rome has a ton to see and do. Two nights gives you one full day - not nearly enough for Rome. I'd almost rather skip Rome entirely, planning to return another time, than spend one day and consider it visited.

Sorry for the confusion. I will be in Italy October 3 - 14. Plan on Assisi Oct. 10, 11, leave out morning of 12th. Not sure if I should do Assisi, Assisi, then go to Orvieto after, or plan a day trip to Orvieto separate from coming back from Assisi.... Wasn't sure which was more convenient/beneficial..... doing consecutively or splitting apart...

I think it'd be helpful if you gave us the entire itinerary.

Yeah, we need to see the whole itinerary because this is confusing. Be prepared for the suggestion to be to NOT see Orvieto on this trip. If you absolutely HAVE to see Orvieto on this trip, then see it between Assisi and Rome as a stopover. Ultimately it's your decision.

Sorry about that. I thought I had explained. I fly into Rome October 3rd and fly out October 14th. In Assisi day of October 10 (after a late morning Scaavi tour at Vatican) stay there that night do a full day in Assisi the 11th, stay that night and leave Assisi the next morning. My question was do I go to Orvieto from Rome earlier in the week OR would it be beneficial to take an early train the day I leave Assisi and hop another train to Orvieto after leaving Assisi. Just wondering if it would save me some time to see Orvieto on the way back from Assisi or head up from Rome on another day earlier in my trip.

We had 2 nights in Assisi and did a side trip to Orvieto. How we justified it is that it was pouring rain in Assisi and would most of the day. So we got on a very early train in Orvieto, walked around, drank some wine, ate some food, got back on a train to Assisi. We didn't really venture into any sights as we had a bit of a time crunch. Took awhile to get to Orvieto, we used it as down time, reading books there and back. We got back to Assisi, the rains stopped and we walked around (we saw most of the sights the day before). I can't say I would do it again but did it. Orvieto was a blur but the weather was great; in Assisi, it wasn't.

If you can add a third night to Rome, you could get to Orvieto more easily from Rome (about 1.25 hours) than from Assisi. If you are flying into and out of Rome, how many nights do you have in Rome, total?

9 nights in Rome, 2 nights in Assisi.

With nine days in Rome, you have time to do a daytrip or even an overnight in Orvieto. Have a great time!

Assisi and Orvieto are both great towns and will only take 3/4 of a day each. All to see in Assisi is the mega church. It is a really contemplative place. Come to pray as much as tour. Orvieto is cute with lots of shops (and the Pinocchio thing is charming)and a few lesser known but great small churches.
In Orvievto make sure to take the incline train car.

Tracey, if all you saw in Assisi was what you call the "mega church", then I feel sorry for you. As Rick says in his Italy book "There's much more to Assisi than St. Francis and what the blitz tour groups see."

Assisi has several sites that relate to the life of Saint Francis, plus the Duomo, the church of Santa Chiara, the Rocca Maggiore (an easy walk up from the town), the beautiful pinkish stone used in many buildings, concerts, the atmosphere of the town itself..

I must respectfully disagree with the comment that 3/4 day is enough for Assisi. I'm typing this in our room at the RS-recommended Pallotta Hotel in Assisi, having just returned from dinner at the recommended Trattoria da Erminio. We arrived yesterday afternoon for a five-night stay in Assisi after three nights in Bavaria and two in Venice. We spent nearly all day today walking around town and we feel like we've barely scratched the surface. We love it here! All of the photos in the album in the follwing link were taken between 6 and 10 pm on Sunday 9/22/13:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103837507532952449461/Assisi220913?authkey=Gv1sRgCLXiloPh75bMggE

My experience is limited having just taken my first trip, but my suggestion is to devote a separate day and go to Orvieto from Rome. Assisi to Orvieto by train is a 2-3 hour trip with a train change, then arrive in Orvieto, take the funicular up to the minibus then up to the top. Personally I couldn't do all that and enjoy the town knowing I had to get back down to the train station and catch the train on to Rome, but it may be perfect for you. I loved Orvieto, the Signorelli frescoes are amazing, the Etruscan artifacts are wonderful, the duomo is gorgeous, and sitting on the plaza is delightful. I hope you have a chance to really enjoy your time there.