Civita di Bagnoregio, the dying city |
Civita di Bagnoregio, historical Italian village called the dying city because of the progressively flaking tuff hill it is built on.
Civita di Bagnoregio is a small Italian village founded by Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago. Civita is perched on the top of a tuff hill in the middle of the Tiber river valley. According to legend, the holy waters of the river healed the wounds of the Lombard king Desiderius. The place was then named Balneum regis, literally King’s Bath. The continuous erosion caused by two streams flowing in the valley below combined with the action of rain and wind is progressively eroding the hill. Several landslides occurred in the past centuries. In June 1695 an earthquake severely damaged Civita. The Contrada Carcere, a block where the prison was located, collapsed into the valley below and Civita remained isolated from Bagnoregio. Since then, Civita could be reached only through a donkey path and only in 1965 a steep footbridge was built. Today Civita has only about 6 year-round residents, so few that it has been nicknamed “the Dying City.”
Civita means town. In the Middle Ages, Civita was the larger community surrounded by walls. Bagnoregio instead was the suburb. The city maintained almost entirely its Medieval structure and appearance. The village had originally five entrance doors. Today the only entrance to the village is through the Door of St. Mary also called Door of the Cave. The Piazza is the center of city life: it is the place where everyone goes to socialize, the place of donkey races on the first Sunday in June, the place where the main palaces and the church are. The church was built on the site of an Etruscan temple which later became a Roman temple. The ancient pillars from those pagan temples still exist outside the church. The facade of the church instead was remodeled during the Renaissance.
Several caves are present at the bottom of the hill. They were used by the Etruscans as cemeteries. Some longer caves instead connected the village directly to the valley below. The biggest cave was called Bucaione. More recently the caves were used during the World War II as refuges. Most of them are now blocked due to the landslides. However, some are still used as cellars for storing wines and cheeses.
Product Description
Civita di Bagnoregio, the dying city
Civita di Bagnoregio is a small Italian village founded by Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago. Civita is perched on the top of a tuff hill in the middle of the Tiber river valley. According to legend, the holy waters of the river healed the wounds of the Lombard king Desiderius. The place was then named Balneum regis, literally King’s Bath. The continuous erosion caused by two streams flowing in the valley below combined with the action of rain and wind is progressively eroding the hill. Several landslides occurred in the past centuries. In June 1695 an earthquake severely damaged Civita di Bagnoregio. The Contrada Carcere, a block where the prison was located, collapsed into the valley below and Civita remained isolated from Bagnoregio. Since then, Civita could be reached only through a donkey path and only in 1965 a steep footbridge was built. Today Civita has only about 6 year-round residents, so few that it has been nicknamed “the Dying City.”
Civita
Civita means town. In the Middle Ages, Civita di Bagnoregio had five entrance doors. Civita was the larger community surrounded by walls. Bagnoregio instead was the suburb. The village maintained almost entirely its Medieval structure and appearance. Today the only entrance to the village is through the Door of St. Mary also called Door of the Cave. The Piazza is the center of city life: it is the place where everyone goes to socialize, the place of donkey races on the first Sunday in June, the place where the main palaces and the church are. The church was built on the site of an Etruscan temple which later became a Roman temple. The ancient pillars from those pagan temples still exist outside the church. The facade of the church instead was remodeled during the Renaissance.
Etruscan Caves
Several caves are present at the bottom of the hill. They were used by the Etruscans as cemeteries. Some longer caves instead connected Civita di Bagnoregio directly to the valley below. The biggest cave was called Bucaione. More recently the caves were used during the World War II as refuges. Most of them are now blocked due to the landslides. However, some are still used as cellars for storing wines and cheeses.
Additional Information
| Product | Canvas print, Fine Art print |
|---|---|
| Size | 15×22, 20×30, 30×45, 50×75, 60×90 |
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