Civita, also known as the Dying City, was the birthplace of St. Bonaventure, an important theologian and the first biographer of St. Francis of Assisi.
Founded by the Etruscans more than two millennia ago, it was the Romans who changed its name to Balneum Regis, from which it probably derived the name it had until 1922, namely Bagnarea.
At the end of the long period of Gothic domination, in 1150 it succeeded in establishing itself as a free commune, under the supervision of the Papal State, causing the Monaldeschi family, counts of Bagnoregio, to move to Celleno and guaranteeing itself at least two centuries of relative independence.
Later, during the struggle between the papacy and the empire, Bagnoregio too had to take sides, choosing the Guelph Orvieto over the Ghibelline Viterbo.
In 1303 another Monaldeschi, Ugolino this time, returned to command Bagnoregio in the role of podestà. For almost two centuries, the family managed to hold on to power despite alternating fortunes (plagues, wars and famine, even an invasion of locusts) until the population of Civita, having reached the point of exasperation, rebelled in 1458, destroying the Cervara castle, their stronghold.
From then on, despite an initial period of chaos, the town was governed by cardinal-governors who guaranteed a period of peace and stability.
In 1695 it was Nature and not Man who wrote a fundamental page in Bagnoregio’s history: a devastating earthquake separated Civita from the other two districts that formed the town, Mercato (today Mercatello) and Rota (the nucleus of modern Bagnoregio).
From this moment and for another hundred and fifty years, the events of Bagnoregio merged with those of the Papal State.
For an autonomous page in the great book of history, the village would have to wait for the Risorgimento. On 5 October 1867, coinciding with the battle of Mentana, papal soldiers and Garibaldians also faced each other near Poggio Scio, with the same tragic result: the papal troops forced the red shirts to abandon Viterbo and the whole of Tuscia.
From this moment on, the history of the village is identified with that of the entire region, from the pain of the First World War through the fascist experience to the tragedy of the German occupation.
For years now, Bagnoregio has been on the list of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy and in 2021, Civita di Bagnoregio was included by Italy in the proposed list to become a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Taruffi museum
An interesting museum named after the driver, inventor and engineer Pietro Taruffi, a famous designer of vintage cars. Through the exhibition of much material related to his work for the most famous car manufacturers, it will be possible to follow the motoring...
