Civita di Bagnoregio

Magical Dying Town: Civita di Bagnoregio

We have discovered Civita Di Bagnoregio by a chance when having our vacation in Capodimonte at our friend's (Mauro Ribichini) holiday house. That day, while trying to find a restaurant where having 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 before leaving back to Modena. What they said about Civita seemed to us really interesting so, the following day we decided to visit it before getting on the road toward Modena. Civita di Bagnoregio was just some km far from Capodimonte, not more than eight. We parked our car at the huge parking area located just a km away far from the entrance to Civita. The daily cost for parking was €5.00. Make sure you have enough coins for the parking meter, because there was nothing around to change the money. 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 city nearby. There was also a small parking area near the ticket office but not everyone was allowed to park there; it seemed for disabled ones and group busses. The entrance fee to Civita was 1.50 euros, really nothing if you think of what you are going to see.

At the first glance, Civita di Bagnoregio looked like an old fort; it was a kind of island on land linked with a long bridge. No words to express how wonderful it was! Once at the city wall we entered the most magical place, it was like stepping in time. We spent few hours wondering 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 exposed perfectly 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 since it was situated in a canyon with constant wind and erosion which day by day destroied this cute little wonder. The scenery was fabulous and the panorama was breathtaking. 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 there were 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 Civita di Bagnoregio in your visit to Italy especially if you are up to Rome, Viterbo or Orvieto. It is truly a masterpiece of nature.