Civita di Bagnoregio

The tuffaceous hill upon which Civita stands is undermined by the continuous erosion caused by two streams flowing in the valleys below and by the action of rain and wind: thus it is crumbling away, slowly but inexorably.

The village, in which only a few families remain, is collapsing, evaporating – it is slipping away: tomorrow it will be nothing but a mirage, like the best dreams, like Venice (also condemned by water), like everything that reveals the fragility and powerlessness of man.

Native son Bonaventure Tecchi provided the best definition of Civita: “the dying town.” The inevitable destiny of the place, the surreal landscape of the muddy gullies that besiege the village, the contrast of their murky colors with the golden hues of the tuff, make Civita a unique place, sunny and gloomy at the same time, alive and spectral, depending on the mood of whoever looks upon it from the precipice of the Belvedere, the “aerial” termination - nearly - of the historic center of Bagnoregio, which begins at the splendid Porta Albana.

Across from the Belvedere, linked to the world by a single, narrow bridge 300 meters long, stands Civita, set gently upon its summit, with its tuft of medieval houses.