Civita di Bagnoregio

 Buongiorno!

The next morning, we started our day with breakfast at the Agriturismo. We were excited because the spread had a lot more options (including a quiche!) and it wasn't too warm out to sit outside!

Once we were done eating, we packed up and headed out on a 30 minute drive towards Civita di Bagnoregio. Before arriving in Orvieto, we weren't quite sure what to do - but we realized that this town wasn't too far away and also happened to be Rick Steves' favorite Italian hill town! The views along the way were gorgeous. Leaving from the Agriturismo, we had great views of Orvieto perched on its cliff (more to come on that later), then great views of farmland, farmhouses, tree-lined lanes, and towns. As we got closer to Bagnoregio, the landscape changed to "Calanchi" or eroded clay badlands. Then, we entered the town driving through the classically small streets until we reached the parking lot. We were trying to find a parking spot when a tall Italian parking attendant appeared out of nowhere to direct us to a spot, then to the meter.

As we headed towards the town, we stopped at a couple viewpoints where we took in the stunning countryside and the town, which sits perched above a canyon. While the Civita di Bagnoregio used to connect to Bagnoregio proper, due to erosion the only way to access the Civita is by a footbridge. Only 11 people live in the Civita now (including Harry Styles, who owns a house there), and the town is known as "the dying city" because wind and water constantly erode its volcanic rock foundation. Scientists estimate the town will no longer be habitable within 100-200 years.

We headed towards the town on the steep road down the hill and paid our "tourist toll" at the booth near the base of the bridge. Then, we climbed the bridge (about 15 minutes on a gentle uphill), taking in the views along the way and trying not to let the fear of heights take over! The bridge was built in 1965 - and before it was there, people trying to get into the town had to take a donkey and take a precarious path.

 

We entered the town through an ancient (2,500 years old) stone passageway from Etruscan times. We wandered the streets with no agenda, popping into every alley we could find and taking in the scenery - both over the countryside and within the town, including the neatly decorated corners with potted plants and flags. There were a couple tour groups that arrived at the same time we did, so we also enjoyed finding the quiet spaces throughout. In my post-visit research, I also learned that Civita may have inspired an animated film by Hayao Mizaki (Japanese Director famous for Studio Ghibli) called Laputa: Castle in the Sky. As we explored, we also encountered an art exhibition for a local artist named Francesca Gentili at the Casa Greco. This was her first exhibition and it included paintings of Argentina from her recent trip and a series based on Isabel Allende's The Daughter of Fortune. As we learned more about Civita, we discovered that it's a common spot for art exhibitions, which makes sense given how photogenic the town is!

We explored the main plaza a bit and did a little souvenir shopping (I picked out a small magnet for our collection). This article by Rick Steves also mentions one of our favorite parts of the town - all the cats! There were so many cute and curious cats as we explored the town. 

We grabbed lunch in town at Osteria al Forno di Agnese, where we had Civitonica Chicken (the restaurant's pride and joy) and Pincinelle with pistachio pesto. We also had a couple feline visitors come by our table a few times.

After lunch, we headed back down the bridge and back towards Orvieto for the afternoon. 

On the way back, we stopped at a scenic point to get a fun view of Orvieto!

We enjoyed the afternoon and evening at the Agriturismo - relaxing in the peace and quiet, reading, and spending more time by the pool. I realized that we could also see a farm across the valley where they had some sheep outside! We had dinner at the B&B one more time for our last night since it was so pleasant the first night! Ray got the same pasta as the night before and I tried something new called "I Gustosi" (directly translates to the "Tasty Ones") - these were potato and sausage bites on a bed of broccoli rabe. It was delicious! We also got one more "Coppa del Nonno" since we enjoyed it so much the first night!

A presto!

Amy