Civita di Bagnoregio is Rick Steves's favorite Italian hill town. It was just a hop from San Francesco (and our landlady owns a shop there), so we just HAD to take a trip. It was way cool. Civita is the old town. It had been used in the era of the Barbarian invasions as a place for Italians to hide from Barbarians (mainly Lombards). Eventually, it was conquered (more or less) by Lombards and the Lombardian King liked the natural springs so much that he named the town "Bath of Kings," or Bagnoregio. As the danger of attack decreased over the centuries, the town expanded down the slope and up to another mesa, which became the main part of the town. Since the terrain is comprised mainly of soft sandstone (-like stuff), erosion is a constant problem. Several centuries ago, the land bridge connecting the old part of Bagnoregio to the new part collapsed, permanently separating the two. The old town became the Civita di Bagnoregio. The new town is just "Bagnoregio" (and is much larger). We went to the Civita.
Civita di Bagnoregio is in serious danger of erosion. Every few decades, another building falls off the edge. Nowadays, only 15 people live here year-round. Indeed, the only way to even get up there is by the footbridge. Yes, one can take a small motorized vehicle (like a Vespa) across, but there is no large (even as small as a Smart Car) motorized traffic. It was quite a hike, but it was also one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Judy, Doug, Katie, and Maggie Montanaro; Aaron Maurer; Civita di Bagnoregio
About half of the buildings were in ruins. Bo loves History.
Some of the vistas are not for the feint of heart.
La Chiesa. I think that this thing was a genuine cathedral (seat of a Bishop) back in the day. It's kinda small, now. Oh well. It gets the job done, I suppose.
Katie in front of the valley.
Picturesque courtyard.
Window overlooking the valley.
I love looking down on the farms. You can see the patterns of the land division. Sadly, this photo is low enough in resolution that you cannot easily see the herd of sheep. Look for little white dots.
Old architecture.
Sike! THIS is old architecture. This is the olive and wine cellar that is beneath the shop owned by our landlady. This was excavated by Etruscans. Evidently, the Etruscans were expert burrowers. Their structures are so good that they are still in use, today (albeit, with electric lighting installed). This space was so humid, that my camera rapidly fogged up. This was my only "keeper" from the bunch.
Picturesque alleyway.
Civita di Bagnoregio, departing view.
Okay, fine. This is neither in Civita di Bagnoregio nor regular Bagnoregio. I snapped this photo in Viterbo, though it was the only one in the bunch. I just thought that this cute little Fiat in a typical Medieval Italian lane was worth preserving. Take note of how greet the plants are. It's frakkin' December! There are succulents. SUCCULENTS!!! The Mediterranean climate rules.
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