History of Freud in Orvieto, Orvieto

When Freud visited Orvieto in September 1897, he was so impressed by what he saw and experienced during his three days, that it changed the course of his life, and thus ours. What was it that triggered his Epiphany? This tour will show you.

He was halfway through life's journey, but like his hero Dante, lost in a dark wood. He was suffering from anxiety and confusion, but also the intellectual excitement of a new start. He was mourning the death of his father. He had suffered a hostile reception to his latest theory by his peers. He was fearful of rising antisemitism in Vienna. He was also withdrawing from cocaine addiction.

We shall retrace his steps and I will illustrate why these Orvieto places had such a profound effect. Orvieto's Etruscan sites and museums unleashed his passion for archeology and antique collecting. The tour embraces art, psychology, archeology, and the biography of a genius. The famous Freudian slip was born of his visit here.