Jun 15, 20232 min read

Civita di Bagnoregio and the Bomarzo gardens

Two magical places on the border between Lazio and Umbria

The dying city

Civita di Bagnoregio

Called the dying city, Civita di Bagnoregio is a fraction of the municipality of Bagnoregio in the province of Viterbo, on the border with Umbria and Tuscany and next to Lake Bolsena. It is a wonderful village built on a crumbly rock that is gradually crumbling and is a national and international tourist reference point as well as being one of the most beautiful places in Tuscia .

If you think that about 700,000 visitors arrive here every year, it makes you understand the importance and beauty of this place where walking there feels like stepping back into the past.

The best photos of Civita are taken from the Belvedere and you will notice that the famous and beautiful Valle dei Calanchi shines all around. In fact it is advisable to spend the weekend in these places, in addition to the Etruscan village there is so much nature to admire.

The center of the village is Piazza San Donato, where in the past there was the forum and today it is called by the locals "the square". The front side is dominated by the Duomo di San Donato, the cathedral until 1699.

An important stop is the Cathedral (Piazza Cavour) which preserves the Santo Braccio. A relic of St. Bonaventure is kept inside a splendid French goldsmith reliquary.

Today Civita offers many accommodations for tourists who want to spend a weekend or just a night here, there are bars and restaurants but all are perfectly integrated with the spirit of the place. The beautiful "gatti di civita" is also famous.

Ps: for the uninitiated, part of the film Pinocchio was shot here and we visited the real shop XD

Bomarzo and the Park of Monsters

Bomarzo

Always on the same day, we also take the opportunity to visit Bomarzo and the Monster Park where we can see numerous sculptures in basalt dating back to the XVI century and depicting mythological animals, deities and monsters. It is advisable to get there with your car as public transport rarely runs.

The Parco dei Mostri or Sacro Bosco di Bomarzo was created by the architect Pirro Ligorio on commission from Prince Pier Francesco Orsini to "be able to vent his heart" after his wife's death.

Inside it is fun to walk in the greenery and take pictures alongside the stone giants who inhabit the woods. Among the most famous are the Etruscan Bench, the Orcus of Fairy Tales, the Mask, Hercules, and the Pegasus Fountain.

The Leaning House is one of a kind, a small building built on an inclined rock and therefore deliberately leaning; the peculiarity is that the interiors have an irregular slope (the floor is not at 90° concerning the walls), causing bewilderment in those who enter. It is believed that originally the entrance to the Wood was exactly opposite the leaning house. (cited Wikipedia)