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20 May 2019
Civita di Bagnoregio
01022 Civita VT, Italia
Magical Dying Town: Civita di Bagnoregio.
We
discovered Civita Di Bagnoregio by chance when having vacation in a small
town called Capodimonte at my sax master’s (Mauro Ribichini) lake house. That
day, while trying to find a restaurant to have our dinner, we found ourselves
talking to some boys sitting on the bench next to us. While chatting together,
they advised us to visit Civita di Bagnoregio (commonly called Civita by the
locals). What they said about Civita di Bagnoregio seemed really interesting to us. Curious,
the following day we decided to visit it before getting on the road toward
Modena.
Civita
di Bagnoregio is just eight km from Capodimonte.
Upon arrival, we parked our
car at the huge parking area located a few steps down the bridge. The daily
cost for parking was €5.00. Make sure you have enough coins for the parking
meter, it only accepted coins and there was nothing around to change the money.
In fact we didn't have enough coins with us and if not for some German tourists
who helped us to solve the problem we would have gone back to the nearby city.
There was also a small parking lot near the ticket office but not everyone was
allowed to park there; it was only for disabled ones and group busses. The
entrance fee to Civita di Bagnoregio was 1.50 euros, really nothing if you think of what you
are going to see.
At
first glance, Civita di Bagnoregio looked like an old fort; with its population
of only 20 people and access limited to a pedestrian footbridge, it was a kind
of island on land. No words to express how wonderful it was! Once at the city
wall we entered the most magical place, it was like stepping back in time. We
spent a few hours wandering around this ancient town, there were more
restaurants and shops than we ever could have imagined. Hotels were not missing
either.
There
was a small museum in the centre of the city, free of charge, which perfectly
told the story of Civita di Bagnoregio; it had a dramatic history indeed: the
bridge was built 300 hundred years ago to connect the land masses that crumbled
in earthquakes.
This
town was known as a dying city because of its geographic position; it was
situated in a canyon with constant wind and erosion which day by day destroyed
this cute little wonder. The scenery was fabulous and the panorama was
breath-taking. The view from the back side of the town was awesome.
There
weren't many people and most of the tourists were foreigners. It seemed so
strange to us. Why were there no Italians? The walk up to the old town was well
worth the trip. Probably we should have stayed there one night to catch the
full charm of this wonderful place.
Don't
forget to include this town in your visit to Italy; Civita di Bagnoregio remains a unique destination especially for travellers up
to Rome, Viterbo or Orvieto.
It is truly a masterpiece of nature.
Spring is certainly the best period to
visit the town but even the Christmas season might be really attractive and charming.
I’ve heard a lot about the living crib of Civita di Bagnoregio that in the
future I’d really love to see. Who knows…
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