Clinging to the top of a crumbly volcanic plateau in the heart of central Italy’s Lazio region and 110 kilometres from Rome, is the picturesque medieval village of Civita di Bagnoregio. Known as la cittá che muore, or ‘the dying town’, this tiny village with 11 permanent residents has gradually been eroding away over the years and it is not known how many more years it will remain accessible for either tourists or locals. The inner hamlet which still remains intact, is only accessible via a single steep tolled footbridge across the Calanchi valley connecting it to a nearby hill.
The footbridge itself takes about 20 minutes to walk across and it steepens on proximity to the village, almost making it feel like a mini pilgrimage that helps whittle out those less tenacious tourists. Walking across the footbridge towards the Etruscan hamlet, I am struck not only by the clearly delineated layers of volcanic tuff of varying thicknesses which form part of the foundations, but also how much of a strategic military and defence position this ancient settlement would have benefitted from in the past. A single elevation surrounded by steep ravines in the midst of this mini Grand Canyon oasis in the heart of Italy, creates a natural protective stronghold with fantastic views in all directions. Passing through the towering stone archway making up the entrance, you are immediately transported to a bygone era. If mobile phones and cameras were forbidden and had to be left at the ticket office, it would be easy to think that you had just time-travelled back to the medieval period.
There is little to see and do in Civita other than amble through the narrow streets, grabbing a bite to eat, absorbing the atmosphere and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Yet this quaint little village would be of interest to a variety of different people. From those that like to amble through tiny characteristic roads, artists absorbing the local atmosphere and way of life while watching the world go by, to budding geologists enjoying the ability to view the clearly defined rock strata and imagining new geo-engineering ways to solve the natural disaster waiting to happen.
At the heart of the hamlet is the main piazza featuring a bell tower and unpretentious 13th century church, re-purposed as different religions were adopted, and yet which remains the fulcrum of the community. If buildings carry memories, Civita di Bagnoregio is carrying well over a millennia’s worth. Strolling through and exploring the cobbled streets, I allow my imagination to run rampant as I admire the remnants of Etruscan architecture that make up this ‘castle in the sky’, soaking in the peace and tranquillity of this charming Italian village which most Europeans have never heard of. It is hard to see why this unassuming little village is dying.
The small geology museum off the main square helps to paint the picture and it is all to do with the foundations that it has been built on. The very ground underneath the village is crumbling away. In 2014 and 2015, landslides carried some of Civita’s medieval properties into the ravines below and the risk of the rest soon following is high. A recent article published in Engineering Geology by Cercato et al. (2020), investigated the seismic properties, geological and morphological conditions of the substrata concluding that previous analyses have created an ‘unrealistic seismic response estimate’. In other words, the complexities of the geology and geophysics of the area may have been underestimated. For the non-geologically inclined, you would be forgiven in thinking that volcanic rock is stable and presents a solid foundation - just look at Edinburgh Castle which is built on an ancient volcanic plug, or similarly in Myanmar with the ancient monastery of Taung Kalat.
However, it all depends on the type of volcanic deposit and what is underneath. Civita di Bagnoregio has been built on top of ignimbrite, layered tuff and stiff clay. Ignimbrite and tuff form as a result of volcanic ash and the collapsing ash column from an explosive eruption, or pyroclastic deposit, lithifying into rock. While tuff has been used since Roman time for construction and building blocks - also used for the building of Civita itself - it is a soft and erodible rock which is perhaps not the most stable material on which to build a hamlet. Combine this with the soft clay beneath and you have a structure prone to landslides and erosion.
Due to these geological conditions, regional seismic and earthquake activity as well as the number of tourists that visit, Civita di Bagnoregio has been added to the watch list of 100 of the World’s most endangered sites, and the Italian UNESCO commission recently proposed the village for World Heritage Status with positive results hoped for by 2022.
In 2013, the mayor Francesco Bigiotti introduced a visitor toll, making it the only village in the whole of Italy which has an entrance fee. This fee has a dual purpose of abolishing the equivalent of a council tax for the local residents of both Civita and Bagnoregio, while also using part of the fee towards preserving the beauty and history of Civita and looking to stabilise the slopes. Additionally, it provides the added benefit of being able to monitor and control foot-flow of visitors. While there is a reliance on tourism which has helped drive unemployment down, no village in Italy wants to lose their identity and way of life which is what helps draw those crowds in.
Walking back through the portal to the modern world after spending an hour enthralled by the spirit of this ‘ghost village’, it is clear that this tiny rustic village unknown to so many European tourists is stubbornly clinging onto life. Limited within its own crumbling confines and unable to compete with the scale of its Tuscan rivals such as San Gimignano or Pitigliano, Civita retains its own timeless beauty which holds it on level footing with other medieval villages in Italy.
A day trip away from Rome or neighbouring Orvieto to include a visit to Civita di Bagnoregio promises a transtemporal, fairytale experience which is bound to remain ingrained in your memories and should be considered for your travel itinerary once you can travel back to the sunny climes of my bella Italia.