{"id":196,"date":"2026-06-11T15:29:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.1.25:8888\/tuscialab\/?p=196"},"modified":"2026-06-18T16:23:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:23:30","slug":"a-day-in-a-dying-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/a-day-in-a-dying-city\/","title":{"rendered":"A Day in a Dying City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Who hasn\u2019t fantasized about the medieval life, wandering through stone villages, simple living, rustic and wholesome food. Ideally, we remain immune to ailments like consumption and plague. Outside Rome, beyond the Elysian fields, and through the La Valle dei Calanchi, Civita di Bagnoregio withstands the pressings of time atop a crumbling rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accessible only by pedestrian bridge, the village stands alone atop steep ravines that dip into weaving canyons below. The city\u2019s prolonged but imminent erosion gives it a rather dramatic image. Stacked atop steep cliffsides on all angles, Civita dramatically stands up against the expansive valleys beckoning below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formed 2,500 years ago by the Etruscans, ancient inhabitants who give Tuscia its name, Civita is known today as \u201cThe Dying City.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Its foundation is made up of tuff soil, a type of volcanic earth, and clay, which slowly wears beneath the weight of the village. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In time, Civita di Bagnoreggio will return to the dust by which it was raised. Until then, this borgo is one of Italy\u2019s many relics that call to an era long past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civita can only be entered via pedestrian bridge. Open every day from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM, visitors must pay a \u20ac5 fee before ascending the walkway. Once you pass under the Santa Maria gate, the village opens up. While the Etruscan foundations remain, all visible architecture hails from medieval and Renaissance eras.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What To See<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A main point of reference in Civita is the Church of San Donato<\/strong>. The small Romanesque chapel invites quiet awe as light filters through delicate glass windows, illuminating religious relics and fresco remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While on the religious walk, follow the main road out of the square to venture beneath the cliff faces. Here you\u2019ll find La Cappella della Madonna del Carcere<\/strong>. Hidden within what was originally an Etruscan-dug tomb, the underground worship site offers a look both at the village\u2019s religious history and how drastically its buildings have integrated into the very cliffsides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whilst strolling through the streets, you\u2019ll likely find your way to the Antico Frantoio<\/strong>, a 16th-century olive oil mill-turned restaurant that sells the agricola\u2019s own olive oil and wine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I imagine that centuries of candlelit dinners have been spent within the enchanting grotto. Even if you don\u2019t stay for a drink, the owner, whose family has owned the mill for generations, is happy to offer a peek inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where To Eat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As the warm smell of burning firewood drifts through alleyways, a meal made over open flame feels mood-appropriate. La Cantina di Ariana <\/strong>delivers with fire-grilled meats and vegetables in a rustic restaurant that matches the cozy, medieval atmosphere. Along with char-grilled meats, they cook up delicious regional dishes that change by the month to match seasonal availability. Local favorites include pappardelle al rag\u00f9 bianco, cicorie fritte, and handmade ravioli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During warmer months, they offer patio seating where you can watch the stray cats wander about, exchanging pets for food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should you be craving a simple and affordable place to post up, La Bottega del Nonno Leone<\/strong> makes fresh panini with locally supplied meat. They have a full drink selection from soda to craft beer and local wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Venture an hour outside the eternal city, and you\u2019ll find one waiting to end. Until Civita officially returns to ruins, it remains as a relic of people from millennias past. From the innovative Etruscans, who dug the drainage systems to keep the city standing, to modern Italian construction and preservation initiatives that keep the city alive today. As long as it remains, Civita exists as a symbol of wonder, a revisitation to the idea that fantastical places still exist in this world.
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Visitor Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Open Daily 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entrance Fee: \u20ac5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People still live here. Please respect that many of the beautiful places you\u2019ll encounter and photograph are family homes passed down through generations. Treat them kindly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All photographs by Alyssa Richter. Used with permission.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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to start?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Immerse yourself in the greeneries of Tuscia
and learn from the experts in fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just an hour outside Rome, you’ll find a slowly crumbling city holding out on a hill, a last stance against the changings of time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senza-categoria"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":641,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions\/641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sbdemo.dev\/tuscialab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}