Steep climbs along streets and sharp turns define the town of Orvieto, nestled high in the hills of the Umbrian countryside. The place where I sat to sketch this junction of two streets was a post office. Cobblestone on the streets is a common feature helping to provide grip as well as visual texture to the townscape. 

None of the Umbrian towns have "street trees" and for good reason. The towns are small with lots of vistas to the green countryside full of orchards. The urban walls are defined purely by the buildings that flank the street space. Thus, density becomes a positive and critical factor in the  interpretation of figure ground.