Civita di Bagnoregio
 

We'll be in Italy next Easter and will drive from Rome to Montepulciano.
I've read an article in Condé Nast Traveler website which mentions the village of Civita di Bagnoregio, not far from Orvieto. According to the article and photos, it seems interesting, but I would like to have some more information.
Any fodorite has visited the village? Do you have some information?
Thanks,

Àlex

Hi Alex,

Civita di Bagnoreggio is very tiny and charming. You can only get there by walking the bridge walkway. Very scenic, lots of flowers, not that much to see, but very worth at least a couple of hours. Great photo op. Only about 20 residents left there and they have a preservation society trying to restore and save the town. Like Orvieto, its tufa mesa is eroding away, hence the walkway to get there.

My friends thanked me several times for including this little hilltown town in our trip. We all loved it.

Be sure to take change for the parking meters at the lot. The restaurant next to the lot doesn't like to give change to all the tourists!

Buon viaggio!

Hi Alex,

I have visited Civita 3 times. Once by accident and the next two times to show it to people I was traveling with. It is a very quaint hill top village, with less than 100 inhabitants. The town is clearly dying. It takes a small hike across an easy bridge to get there. It is a little steep, but my 71 year old Mother just did it last October. Once there you can enjoy the town in less than 15 minutes. There is a very small pizza shop just inside the main gate. There is also a card shop, (rarely open), which sells postcards of Civita. In October there was a small “enoteca / restaurant” that was new. We didn’t eat there, but my companions tried the “vino locale”, and said it was not very good (this is being kind). The picture with the Condé Nast Traveler article shows and old woman, sitting on a ledge. She has been there all 3 times I’ve visited. She wants you to look at her “Bella Panorama”. After walking behind her home, which does have a nice view, she will expect a small tip from you. There is also a church, an olive oil mill (non functioning) and a small cave that has some religious connection (sorry, I can’t remember what). All in all, I enjoy visiting the town. If you have time, stop and see it. For some reason, it is not the same as most small hill towns. Do be aware that the town is pretty much “closed down” during siesta. Enjoy!

I find this little town a wonderful side trip on the way to something else. As said already, it is about an hour diversion total. Remember that you have to drive THRU the town of C di B to the end to get access to the bridge to walk up to the old town.

vawegs, thanks for your most complete and picturesque description. I've just crossed it off my list. Yawn.

We visited it for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it. The town is very quiet during off season, but it is charming and makes for a beautiful picture. We didn't realize that we could park near the foot bridge so we had a pretty decent hike, but the town was worth it. Just note that there isn't really much to do there; the town itself is the attraction, and its very tiny.

Tracy

Isn’t Civita the tiny, sparsely populated village that Rick Steves highlights in one of his travel videos? If so, it probably isn’t sparsely populated anymore.

Been there--done that--3 times now.
If you are driving from Rome to Orvieto it is a good one hour stop--some of my best photos are from there.

Thanks to everybody. All the information you've given is very helpful for me, specially the fact that you have to walk all the bridge (I thougt that you could reach the village by car).
We travel with a 2-year old child and maybe this discourage us to visit C. di B. For the photos, it seems a long walk. How much time does it take?

The walk across the bridge took us about 10 minutes, although Rick Steves says it takes about 20 (I guess it depends on how fast you walk). The second half of the bridge is a fairly steep uphill walk. Because we were there during off season, there were hardly anyone in the village, but as we we arrived at the bridge a group of tourists were coming off of it, and two of them had small children in strollers so it is possible.

Tracy

Thanks again, Tracy. 10 minutes is not too much.