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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

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In and About Viterbo Bagnoregio

Viterbo is located at the centre of a low plateau (1,000 ft high) between the sea and the Tiber valley. This valley is some 300 ft high and the edge of the plateau is marked by deep ravines which isolate long and narrow hills of tufa rock, very often having a flat top .
The Etruscans chose these locations for their towns as they were easily defensible and healthy. The land near the Tiber was often marshy and exposed to floods.
But the tufa rock upon which Bagnoregio was built rests on layers of clay which over time tend to slip downwards, thus determining the collapse of sections of the rock above them. This explains why it is called il paese che muore, the dying town.

View of Civita di Bagnoregio
View of Civita di Bagnoregio

Civita (city) as the oldest part of Bagnoregio is called, is now completely isolated from the plateau to which it was once united by a ridge.

The only remaining gate of Civita
The only remaining gate of Civita

The only access to Civita is through a light modern pedestrian bridge leading to the only remaining gate (Porta di S. Maria). The gate is protected by a tower and it is decorated with reliefs (one of which is shown as background image of this page).

Former cathedral of Bagnoregio
Former cathedral of Bagnoregio

Cars cannot reach Civita and one immediately after having crossed the gate realizes how much the site gains from this fact.
The church of S. Donato was the cathedral of Bagnoregio until 1699, when this role was assigned to a new church built in the safer area where most of the inhabitants had moved. It has an elegant Renaissance façade while the interior is medieval.

Typical medieval houses with external staircase
Typical medieval houses with external staircase

Today Civita is springing up anew. The difficulty of access which caused its almost total abandonment, today attracts people who look for a quiet buen retiro (good retreat). Most of the medieval houses in the central area of Civita have been restored in recent years.

Renaissance portals
Renaissance portals

Many architectural features of Civita show that it was the centre of Bagnoregio well into the XVIth century, while there are no signs of the styles which were developed later.

Walls at the eastern tip of Civita and view from there towards the Tiber valley
Walls at the eastern tip of Civita and view from there towards the Tiber valley

Civita ends with a small terrace near a short stretch of the ancient walls. From there one can see a vast area where almost all of the tufa rocks have disappeared, thus exposing to view the layers of clay which lay below them. In a way, the view shows the destiny of Civita.

Renaissance gate and palace in Bagnoregio
Renaissance gate and palace in Bagnoregio

Towards the end of the XVIth century what in medieval times was a suburb of Bagnoregio gradually became its main centre. At the end of that century the erection of a fine Renaissance gate was a sort of confirmation that the new town was taking over the old one.

Details
Roman column and a generic papal coat of arms in Civita; a madonnella in Bagnoregio; coat of arms of Bagnoregio


In and about Viterbo - other pages:
Viterbo
Bagnaia
Bomarzo
Orte and Vasanello
S. Maria della Querce
S. Martino al Cimino
Tuscania
Vitorchiano

Pages on towns of Latium other than Rome In the Duchy of Castro: Farnese, Ischia di Castro, Valentano, Gradoli, Capodimonte, Marta In Maremma: Corneto (Tarquinia), Montalto, Canino A Pilgrim's Way: Via Francigena: Acquapendente, Bolsena, Montefiascone In and about Viterbo: Viterbo, Bagnoregio, S. Martino al Cimino, Tuscania, Bomarzo, S. Maria della Querce, Bagnaia, Orte, Vasanello, Vitorchiano From Civitavecchia to Civita Castellana: Civitavecchia, Tolfa, Allumiere, Oriolo Romano, Capranica, Sutri, Bassano, Monterosi, Nepi, Castel d'Elia, Civita Castellana From Bracciano to Viterbo: Manziana, Canale Monterano, Vejano, Barbarano, Blera, Vetralla Around Monte Cimino: Ronciglione, Caprarola, Carbognano, Fabrica, Corchiano, Vignanello, Vallerano, Soriano The Bracciano Lake: Bracciano, Trevignano, Anguillara At the foot of Monte Soratte: S. Oreste, Rignano, Faleria Land of the Romans' wives: Montopoli, Poggio Mirteto, Casperia, Cantalupo, Roccantica Sentinels on the Highway: Fiano Romano, Civitella S. Paolo, Nazzano, Torrita Tiberina, Filacciano, Ponzano Along Via Aurelia: Palidoro, Palo, S. Severa and S. Marinella A Walk to Malborghetto: Prima Porta, Malborghetto Branching off Via Cassia: S. Maria di Galeria, Formello, Isola Farnese To Nomentum and beyond: Mentana, Monterotondo, Palombara A Walk to Ponte di Nona: ancient monuments along Via Prenestina Via Appia Antica A short and delicious digression: Tivoli, Montecompatri, Monte Porzio Catone, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Marino, Castelgandolfo, Albano, Ariccia, Genzano, Velletri, Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Rocca Priora, Civita Lavinia (Lanuvio), Porto, Ostia Where the painters found their models: Anticoli Corrado, Castelmadama, Vicovaro, Arsoli Subiaco The Roman Campagna: Palestrina, Genazzano, Paliano, Anagni The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino, Alatri The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone, Colonna, Segni, Norma, Cori On the Latin Shores: Anzio, Nettuno, Torre Astura On the edge of the marsh: Sermoneta, Sezze, Priverno Circe's Cape: S. Felice, Terracina Veroli Branching off Via Flaminia: Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Morlupo, Leprignano (Capena)

Latium was enlarged in the 1920s with territories from the neighbouring regions: the map on the left shows the current borders of Latium; the map on the right has links to pages covering towns of historical Latium: in order to see them you must hover and click on the dots.