Civita di Bagnoregio sits on top of a column of volcanic tufa rock in northern Lazio, about 120 kilometres north of Rome. The Etruscans built a settlement here roughly 2,500 years ago. Since then, the Romans, the Lombards, and medieval traders all moved through, each leaving something behind. The rock has been slowly crumbling the whole time.
Italians call it la città che muore — the dying city. It is one of the most visited villages in Italy, and one of the strangest places you can stand on.
Why the Rock Is Crumbling
Civita stands on a plateau of tufa, a soft volcanic rock formed from ancient ash deposits. The valleys on either side — carved over millennia by the Tiber and Torbido rivers — continue to erode the base. Rain softens the stone. Wind takes it apart. Every few years, another section breaks away and falls into the valley below.
A serious earthquake in 1695 accelerated things significantly. Buildings collapsed. The hillside path connecting the village to the nearby town of Bagnoregio, about a kilometre away, became impassable. Residents began to leave. The population, which had numbered in the hundreds for centuries, started its long decline.
By the mid-20th century, around 100 people still lived here permanently. Today that number is roughly 12. During summer, the village can receive several thousand tourists in a single day. The permanent population is outnumbered by visitors by a factor that is almost too large to calculate.
The Bridge
The only way in or out is a single pedestrian bridge built in the 1960s. It is 300 metres long and rises from the town of Bagnoregio up to the old gate of Civita. No vehicles of any kind are permitted inside the village walls. Everything — groceries, building materials, furniture, medical supplies — must be carried across on foot, or transported by small motorised carts that can manage the bridge gradient.
The bridge itself has been rebuilt and reinforced several times. The original connection between Civita and Bagnoregio was a natural ridge, but erosion eventually destroyed it. The 1960s concrete span replaced a narrower earlier structure. A second bridge alongside it was added later to manage tourist traffic separately from residents.
Walking across, you pass over the valley with nothing but open air on either side. On a clear day, the drop into the Calanchi — the eroded clay badlands below — looks almost unreal. The tufa columns that remain are like the stumps of a larger landmass that is slowly being eaten away from every direction.
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Who St. Bonaventure Was
One of the most significant people ever born in Civita di Bagnoregio was Giovanni di Fidanza, born in 1221. He later became known as St. Bonaventure — a Franciscan friar, theologian, and cardinal who became one of the most influential thinkers of the 13th century. He was canonised in 1482 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588.
A small church in the village, San Donato, marks the spot where his family home reportedly stood. It is one of several medieval buildings still intact in Civita, along with a Romanesque arch at the main gate that dates to Etruscan times and was later modified by the Romans.
The church itself has been repaired repeatedly over the centuries as the ground around it shifts. Some of the original Etruscan stonework is still visible in the lower sections of certain walls. The layer upon layer of different civilisations is not metaphorical here — it is physically present in the masonry.
What to Expect When You Visit
There is an entry fee to cross the bridge: currently around €5 for adults, with reduced rates for children and certain categories. The fee goes towards maintenance of the bridge and the village infrastructure. Given the footfall numbers in summer, the crowds can make the experience feel less than intimate — if you want the village relatively to yourself, arrive early in the morning or visit in late autumn or winter.
Once inside the gate, the village is small. The main piazza, the church, a few narrow alleyways, some of the old cave cellars cut into the tufa — you can see most of it in an hour. There are a handful of cafes and a couple of restaurants, typically open during the tourist season from spring through early autumn. In winter, Civita is very quiet indeed.
The views from the edge of the plateau are remarkable in any season. You can see the Calanchi badlands stretching out below, the surrounding hills of northern Lazio, and on a clear day the town of Bagnoregio itself. The landscape looks more like something from a fantasy novel than a real Italian countryside — which probably explains why it has featured in films and is frequently photographed.
Getting There from Rome
Civita di Bagnoregio is not straightforward to reach by public transport. From Rome, you take a COTRAL bus from Saxa Rubra (accessible by tram from the city centre) to Bagnoregio. The journey takes around two hours. Buses do not run constantly, so check the timetable before you go — services can be infrequent, particularly on Sundays.
By car, you drive north on the A1 motorway and exit at Orvieto or Attigliano, then follow signs to Bagnoregio. The drive from Rome takes roughly 1.5 hours depending on traffic. Parking is available in Bagnoregio, from where you walk to the bridge and across into Civita.
Orvieto, about 30 kilometres to the north in Umbria, makes a logical stop on the same trip. It sits on its own tufa plateau and also has a long history of erosion concerns. The two towns share a landscape type, and combining them makes for a well-rounded day out from Rome, or a worthwhile overnight stop.
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The 12 Who Stayed
The people who live in Civita today chose to be there. That is the part that is hardest to explain to someone who has not seen the place. It is not that they were unable to leave — the bridge goes both ways. It is that they decided a life on a crumbling rock, carrying their shopping over a 300-metre bridge, with no cars and no street noise and the valley a long way below, was worth having.
Some are elderly residents who have simply lived there all their lives. Others are younger people who moved in deliberately, drawn by the silence and the particular quality of the light in the morning when the mist sits in the valley below and the tufa glows gold.
The village has been dying for 700 years by most accounts. The geologists who study the erosion are cautious about making predictions — the rate of collapse is not constant, and some areas are more stable than others. There are ongoing efforts to reinforce the most vulnerable sections of the tufa plateau. The Italian government has at various points allocated funds for stabilisation work.
Whether it survives another century is genuinely uncertain. The tufa will keep breaking. The valley will keep pulling pieces down. But for now, the bridge is there, the church is standing, the gate still has its Etruscan arch, and somewhere in those few dozen buildings, 12 people are going about their day above the valley.
Practical Information
- Location: Province of Viterbo, Lazio — approximately 120 km north of Rome
- Entry fee: Approximately €5 per adult (fees may vary by season — check locally)
- Best time to visit: Early morning in summer; late autumn and winter for fewer crowds
- By public transport: COTRAL bus from Saxa Rubra (Rome) to Bagnoregio, then walk to the bridge — check current timetable before travelling
- By car: A1 motorway, exit Orvieto or Attigliano, then follow signs to Bagnoregio
- Combine with: Orvieto (30 km north), Lake Bolsena (15 km west)
- Note: No vehicles inside the village; the bridge is the only access point
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