Civita di Bagnoregio, Lazio
Perched on an eroding tufa pinnacle above a lunar valley of clay ravines, Civita di Bagnoregio is one of the most surreal and beautiful villages in Italy — and one of the least visited for its quality. Locals call it 'la città che muore' (the dying city) because the rock beneath it is slowly crumbling away.
What Makes It Extraordinary
A single pedestrian footbridge, 300 metres long, connects Civita to the modern town of Bagnoregio. Cross it and you step into a medieval Etruscan-founded village of about a dozen permanent residents, golden stone alleyways, Romanesque church of San Donato, and cats. Many, many cats.
The views from the village edge over the Valle dei Calanchi — a badlands landscape of eroded clay gullies — are unlike anything else in central Italy. At dawn or dusk, when low-angle light rakes across the ravines, the scene looks like a painting by a Flemish master who visited Mars.
Getting There and When to Go
Civita di Bagnoregio is 120 km north of Rome. Drive or take a COTRAL bus from Rome's Saxa Rubra station to Bagnoregio (about 2 hours), then walk 10 minutes to the footbridge. There is no public transport onto the rock itself.
A small entry fee (€5 weekdays, €6 weekends) is charged at the bridge. Visit on a weekday morning between October and April for near-solitude. The village has a handful of restaurants serving simple Lazio cooking — the handmade pasta with wild boar ragù at Alma Civita is reliably good.
More of Italy
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Italy →
