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Civita di Bagnoregio


From afar Civita di Bagnoregio appears as a hermitage suspended between heaven and earth: the village rises in the province of Viterbo on a tuff promontory which, from a height of about 443 meters, rises between the ravines of the Rio Torbido and the Rio Chiaro, in a spectacular setting that makes Civita di Bagnoregio one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
  • Ghost town
  • Suitable for disabled people
  • Camper parking area
  • Most beautiful villages in Italy
Civita di Bagnoregio   | davy_and_the_world/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
davy_and_the_world/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | Jaroslaw Pawlak/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
Jaroslaw Pawlak/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | pixelshop/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
pixelshop/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | Stefy Morelli/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
Stefy Morelli/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | Jan Miko/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
Jan Miko/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | milosk50/shutterstock.com
Civita di Bagnoregio
milosk50/shutterstock.com
Church of San Donato  | Stefy Morelli/shutterstock.com
Church of San Donato
Stefy Morelli/shutterstock.com
Civita di Bagnoregio   |
Civita di Bagnoregio
Civita di Bagnoregio   | Jaro68/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
Jaro68/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | jackbolla/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
jackbolla/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | davy_and_the_world/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
davy_and_the_world/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | davy_and_the_world/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
davy_and_the_world/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | ermess/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
ermess/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | Valery Rokhin/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
Valery Rokhin/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio   | ValerioMei/shutterstock
Civita di Bagnoregio
ValerioMei/shutterstock
A look at Civita
A look at Civita
The wall door
Civita di Bagnoregio  | Rudi Gobbo - e-borghi Community
The wall door Civita di Bagnoregio
Rudi Gobbo - e-borghi Community
The city that dies
Civita di Bagnoregio  | Rudi Gobbo - e-borghi Community
The city that dies Civita di Bagnoregio
Rudi Gobbo - e-borghi Community
Civita by night with full moon  | Matteo Gentili - e-borghi Community
Civita by night with full moon
Matteo Gentili - e-borghi Community
Civita by night with fog  | Matteo Gentili - e-borghi Community
Civita by night with fog
Matteo Gentili - e-borghi Community
Civita di Bagnoregio  | Francesco Rocca - e-borghi Community
Civita di Bagnoregio By Francesco Rocca

About the village

History
The numerous Etruscan tombs found on the site suggest that the area where Civita di Bagnoregio stands today has been inhabited since the Etruscan era. The area was crossed by waterways and was close to important communication routes such as the one that connected the nearby Lake Bolsena to the Tiber: soon the Romans, then the Goths and the Lombards, arrived, until the Frankish domination that led to the lordship of many noble families such as the Monaldeschi.
In the thirteenth century Civita di Bagnoregio prospered as a free municipality until the plague of 1221 decimated its population. At the behest of Pope Alexander VI Civita di Bagnoregio ended up under the power of the Apostolic Delegation of nearby Viterbo.
The two earthquakes of 1695 and 1794 jeopardized the existence of the town and, amid landslides and landslides, the population abandoned it in favor of Rota.
After being the scene of the historic Battle of Bagnorea between the Pope's soldiers and the Garibaldi soldiers, Civita di Bagnoregio became part of the kingdom of Italy in 1870.
An inexorable state of abandonment followed until tourism revived the fortunes of this splendid town: you must know that some scenes of films such as "The two colonels" with Totò and "The enchanted city" by the great Japanese director were shot here Hayao Miyasaki.

Entrance to the village
You will have certainly heard of Civita di Bagnoregio as "the dying city". The reason is that the layer of friable clay present at the base of the tuff cliff, over the centuries, is constantly eroded by the waters of the streams, the wind and the rains, endangering the stability of the village. The same spectacular Valle dei Calanchi that surrounds it has been shaped thanks to erosions: the badlands, specific to the place that will appear to you like waves in an arid sea of ​​stone, are clay ridges that can reach great heights and important depressions.
To reach Civita di Bagnoregio you have to cross a pedestrianized concrete bridge, at the end of which you will find yourself in front of the Porta di Santa Maria. This masonry entrance is dominated by a beautiful loggia and is decorated on the sides by two small lions with human heads in the jaws, in memory of the expulsion from the village of the hated Monaldeschi in 1494. With a little attention you will be able to see some engraved cross, perhaps left by pilgrims returning from the Holy Land or by some Templar.

The enchanted village
Once through the Porta di Santa Maria you will find yourself in a town where time has stopped, where the late medieval style is almost intact. You will walk in silence, under the gaze of some sly cat, among artisan shops, elegant peperino portals, ivy-clad houses and Renaissance buildings decorated with profferli and mullioned windows. Among the latter stands the Palazzo degli Alemanni, which is also home to the "Geological and Landslide Museum" where you can learn more about the geological history of the village.
The heart of Civita di Bagnoregio is Piazza San Donato: do not expect a paved space because here you will find only red soil, just as it was in the distant fifteenth century. In the square there is the old Cathedral of San Donato, whose Renaissance facade of the '500 betrays the medieval origin of the church. Inside, in addition to a fine fresco from the Perugino school, there is a wooden crucifix which, according to Christian tradition, in 1499 would have communicated to a faithful the end of the plague. Every Good Friday he is carried in a procession between appearances in period costumes and solemn songs to the Annunziata Church of Bagnoregio, and then returns to Civita by midnight to preserve it from earthquakes and landslides.
If you reach Civita di Bagnoregio in the first days of June you will witness the ancient Palio della Tonna which takes place right in Piazza San Donato, among jockeys on the back of their donkeys who challenge each other by turning in circles to win the Palio.

Between caves and good food
Wandering through the alleys of Civita di Bagnoregio there will be many belvedere that you will meet, from which you can enjoy spectacular views over the Valle dei Calanchi. Looking closely, you will not struggle to see many underground caves excavated in Etruscan times: reaching the "Museum of Ancient Civitas" you will find yourself wandering in hypogean environments where peasant life took place in the 30s. Here are preserved Etruscan and Roman finds, but also oil mills, plows, spades, scales and other utensils of daily life, as well as dining rooms and bedrooms faithfully reproduced in some caves.
Much more mystical is the Grotta di San Bonaventura where the little Giovanni di Fidanza is healed by San Francesco d'Assisi who, after the miracle, pronounces the words "Bona Ventura": for this reason the young man, when he becomes a Franciscan, adopted the name of Bonaventura.
Before leaving Civita di Bagnoregio stop in one of the characteristic restaurants of the village and enjoy the typical cuisine of the ter

Village of Civita
Municipality of Bagnoregio
Province of Viterbo
Lazio region

Population: 3,650 (15 in the village) bagnoresi
Altitude Center: 484 m s.l.m.

The Municipality is part of:
I Borghi più belli d'Italia
Strada dei Vini dell'Alta Tuscia
Strada del Vino della Teverina

Municipality
Piazza Sant'Agostino 21 - phone +39 0761-780815

 

= distances as the crow flies

BY CAR

  • From the north or south: take the A1 highway and exit at Orvieto. Take the SP12 and then continue on the SP6 to Civita di Bagnoregio.

ON THE TRAIN

  • Orvieto station
  • Viterbo station

BY PLANE

  • Rome Fiumicino airport
  • Rome Ciampino airport

Sleep, eat, buy...

= distances as the crow flies

Events

from
tuesday
26
december, 2023
to tuesday 7 january 2025

Living Crib of Civita di Bagnoregio

friday
29
march, 2024

Procession of the SS Crucifix

sunday
2
june, 2024

Palio della Tonna - June

monday
15
july, 2024

Patronal Feast of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio

from
thursday
25
july, 2024
to wednesday 7 august 2024

Tuscia Jazz Festival

sunday
8
september, 2024

Palio della Tonna - September

sunday
8
september, 2024

Second Festival of the SS. Crocifisso

Our news about Civita di Bagnoregio

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