ORURO, a department and town of Bolivia. The department is bounded north by La Paz, east by Cochabamba and Potosi, south by Potosi and west by Chile; it occupies part of an ancient lacus trine basin lying between the eastern and western ranges of the Andes, and has an area of 20,657 sq.m., the greater part of which is semi-arid and covered with extensive saline deposits. The Desaguadero river, the outlet of Lake Titicaca, flows southward into Lake Pampa-Aullagas, or Pool* on the eastern side of the department near the Cordillera de los Frailes. Lake Poopo is 12,106 ft. above sea-level, or 400 ft. lower than Titicaca, and its waters discharge through a small outlet, called the Lacahahuira, into the lagoon and saline morasses of Coipasa (12,073 ft. ele vation) in the south-west corner of the department. Oruro is almost exclusively a mining department, the country being too arid and too cold for agriculture. With the exception of a narrow strip along the foot-hills of the Cordillera de los Frailes, where a few cattle, mules, llamas and sheep are reared, little of the area is suitable even for grazing. In the vicinity of the capital, in the north-east part of the department, there are large deposits of tin, silver, tungsten and copper; Oruro is the second largest producer of tin in the republic.
The capital of the department is Oruro, 125 m. south-south east (direct) of La Paz; it is an old mining town dating from the 17th century, when it is said to have had a population of 70,00o. The estimate of 1942 gave it a population of 30,000, the greater part of whom are Indians and mestizos. A considerable number of foreigners are interested in the neighbouring mines. The elevation of Oruro is 12,158 ft. above sea-level, and its climate is characterized by a cool summer with light rainfall and a cooler but sunny winter, with nightly frosts and an occasional snow-storm. The mean temperature of the warmest month, De cember, is 51° F and that of the coolest month, June, is 31° F. There is a much greater difference than this between day and night temperatures, both in summer and winter. Oruro is connected by rail with La Paz and Cochabamba, with Antofagasta, 578 m. away, and with Arica (via Viacha) 38o m. distant. (G. M. McB.) ORVIETO (anc. Volsinii [q.v.], later Urbs Vetus, whence the modem name), town and episcopal see, province of Terni, Italy, on the Paglia, a tributary of the Tiber, 78 m. by rail N. by W. of Rome. Pop. (1931) 7,306 (town) ; 20,352 (commune). It crowns an isolated rock, 1,033 ft. above sea-level, 64o ft. above the plain, commanding splendid views, and is approached by a funicular railway. The town has a large number of fine 13th-century houses and palaces. The splendid cathedral dedicated to the Virgin was begun at least as soon as 1288 on the site of two older churches erected to commemorate the miracle of Bolsena (q.v.), and was decorated by many mediaeval painters and sculptors. The exterior is black and white marble; the interior is grey limestone with bands of dark basaltic stone. There is a large rectangular nave, with semicircular recesses for altars, opening out of the aisles, north and south, two transeptal chapels and a short choir. The
finest polychrome monument in existence is the west facade, of richly-sculptured marble from the designs of Lorenzo Maitani of Siena, divided into three gables with intervening pinnacles; it is a reproduction of the facade of Siena cathedral. The mosaics are modern. The four wall-surfaces that flank the three western door, ways are decorated with beautiful sculpture in relief, executed under Maitani's direction until his death in 1330. In the interior, the Cappella del Corporale possesses a large silver shrine, resem bling the cathedral facade, enriched with countless figures in relief and subjects in translucent coloured enamels—one of the most im portant specimens of early silversmith's work. It was begun by Ugolino Vieri of Siena in 1337, and was made to contain the Holy Corporal from Bolsena (q.v.). On the south side is the chapel of S. Brizio, separated from the nave by a fine 14th-century wrought iron screen. The walls and vault are covered with fine and well preserved frescoes—among the noblest works of Fra Angelico and Luca Signorelli, painted 1499 to 1504—the latter being of especial importance in the history of art owing to their great in fluence on Michelangelo in his early days. The choir stalls are fine and elaborate specimens of tarsia and rich wood-carving—the work of Pietro del Minella (1430-41). In 16th-century sculp ture the cathedral is especially rich, containing many statues, groups and altar-reliefs by Simone Mosca and Ippolito Scalza. Close by are two Gothic buildings, the bishop's palace (1264) and the Palazzo dei Papi (1264-1302), the latter with a huge hall now containing the Museo Civico, with various mediaeval works of art, and also objects from the Etruscan necropolis of the an cient Volsinii (q.v.). The Palazzo Faina has another interesting Etruscan collection. The Palazzo del Comune is Romanesque (12th cent.). S. Andrea and S. Giovenale are also Romanesque churches of the 11th century; both contain later frescoes. To the th-12th century belongs the ruined abbey of SS. Severo and Martirio, 1 m. south of the town. The church of S. Domenico con tains one of the finest works in sculpture by Arnolfo del Cambio, the tomb with recumbent effigy of the Cardinal de Braye (1282), with much beautiful sculpture and mosaic. There are a few build ings by Sammicheli of Verona, architect of the cathedral from 1509-28. The fortress built in 1364 by Cardinal Albornoz has been converted into a public garden. The well, now disused, called pozzo di S. Patrizio, is one of the chief curiosities of Orvieto. It is 200 ft. deep to the water-level and 42 ft. in diameter, cut in the rock, with a double winding inclined plane, so that asses could ascend and descend to carry the water from the bottom. It was begun by the architect Antonio da San Gallo the younger in 1527 for Clement VII. and was finished by Simone Mosca under Paul III. (See UMBRIA.) See L. Fumi, 11 Duomo d' Orvieto e i suoi restauri (1891) ; Orvieto, note storiche e biografiche (1891) , and other works ; P. Perali, Orvieto (ibid. 1919) . (T. A.)