Looking over your shoulder for the better part of two-and-a-half millennium, waiting for the other shoe to drop, is probably not the best way to cope with Mother Nature. But, that’s exactly what the tiny village of Civita di Bagnoregio has been doing since the innovative Etruscans discovered a rocky peak far from the maddening crowd – where only eagles dare – and decided to call it home.
Surviving more than 2,500 years of wind and erosion, this tightly knit community struggles to ward off the “Grim Reaper” as it sits, strikingly, atop a pinnacle of friable volcanic tuff that overlooks the Tiber River Valley in the province of Viterbo in the Lazio Region of Central Italy. Not surprising, Civita is referred to by Italians as il paese che muore (the dying town).
Admired for its architecture, Civita is in constant danger of total collapse as its edges slowly erode and fall off, leaving the buildings built on the plateau to crumble. Scratching their heads, geologists have led the way in efforts to shore up the village with steel rods to prevent further decay.
Of all the Italian hill towns, Civita is quite impressive on a very small scale and billed as uno dei borghi piu belli d’Italia (one of the prettiest villages of Italy). Lesser known than more popular – and safe - medieval hill towns and cities, Civita is one of the finest examples of a true step-back-in-time as the modern age just looked the other way and simply passed it by.
It’s relative isolation has actually helped Civita survive for as long as it has…
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