Civita di Bagnoregio

May 20, 2019Niry Fidelis

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…