Civita di Bagnoregio occupies a narrow ridge above the Valle dei Calanchi in Lazio, near the town of Bagnoregio. The approach is part of the experience: visitors leave the ordinary road network and cross a pedestrian bridge to reach the historic settlement. From the far side, roofs and stone buildings appear to rise from an isolated crown of rock.
The village’s dramatic outline is not simply a picturesque backdrop. Municipal geological material describes a landscape built from different layers: older marine clay below, with volcanic and tuff deposits above. Rain and running water attack the slopes, while landslides alter the ravines and the edge of the plateau. The same geology that creates the calanchi scenery also makes the inhabited ridge vulnerable.
