The village of Civita di Bagnoregio and the Valley of the Badlands

Situated in a secluded, is only accessible via a pedestrian bridge built of reinforced concrete in 1965 [1]. The bridge can be crossed only on foot, but recently the town of Bagnoregio, to meet the needs of those who live and / or work in this place, has issued a circular stating that, at certain times, residents and authorized persons can cross the bridge to the edge of cycles and motorcycles. The cause of his isolation is the gradual erosion of the hill and the surrounding valley, which has given rise to the typical forms of gullies and that continues today, threatening to wipe out the village, so also called the "dying city"or, more rarely, "the dying town. "

The village is currently inhabited by about fifteen people.

History

Civita was founded 2500 years ago by the Etruscans. Situated on one of the oldest roads in Italy, joining the Tiber (then great waterway of central Italy) and Lake Bolsena.

The ancient town of Civita was accessed through five doors, but now that the door of Santa Maria or quarry, is the only access to the country. The urban structure of the entire town is of Etruscan origin, consisting of thistles and decumani by use Etruscan and Roman, and the whole coating is medieval and Renaissance architecture. There are numerous testimonies of the Etruscan phase of Civita, especially in the area known as San Francisco old, because the rock below the viewpoint of old San Francisco was found a small Etruscan necropolis. The grotto of St. Bonaventure, which says that St. Francis healed the little John Fidanza, who later became St. Bonaventure, is actually an Etruscan chamber tomb. The Etruscans did Civita (of which we know the ancient name), a thriving city, encouraged by the strategic position for trade, thanks to its proximity to the major routes of the time. Are many testimonies of the Etruscan period: particularly fascinating is the so-called "Bucaioni", a deep tunnel which affects the lower part of the settlement, and allows access directly from the country, the Valley of the Badlands. In the past, were also seen many chamber tombs, excavated at the base of the cliff of Civita and other surrounding walls of tufa which unfortunately was largely swallowed up over the centuries by numerous landslides. Moreover, already the Etruscans themselves had to cope with problems of instability and seismicity of the area, in 280 BC expressed by earthquakes and landslides. Upon arrival of the Romans in 265 BC, were filming the mighty works of channeling of stormwater and containment of streams initiated by the Etruscans.

The Monuments of Civita

Inside the village are several medieval houses, the church of San Donato, which overlooks the main square, the Bishop's Palace, a mill of the XVI century, the birthplace of St. Bonaventure and the port of Santa Maria, with two lions holding a human head in its paws, in memory of a popular uprising of the inhabitants of Orvieto Civita deiMonaldeschi the family.

In 2005 the town of Bagnoregio Gullies have been proposed as a Site of Community Interest.

The Valley of the Badlands

The valley is located between the ravines of Lake Bolsena in the west and the Tiber valley to the east, in the municipality of Bagnoregio. It consists of two main valleys: the Moat and Moat Cloudy del Rio del Rio Chiaro. Originally, these places had to be sweeter and more accessible and were crossed by an 'old road that connected the Tiber valley to Lake Bolsena.

The morphology of this area was caused by erosion and landslides. The territory consists of two distinct formations in chronology and type. The oldest is the clay, of marine origin and is also the road base, particularly prone to erosion. The upper layers are formed by lava and tuffaceous material. The rapid erosion is due to the work of streams, weathering, but also to deforestation.

The area of the town of Bagnoregio is not very extensive, but quite heterogeneous. The vegetation of the gullies, because of their clayey nature, is limited to few species, arranged in small and sparse groups. Even in the spring when the flora is the most flourishing, the soil remains mostly uncovered. At the lower end of the badlands is a bushy area, consisting of bushes, reeds, broom, elm and some shrub, sometimes, wild rose. Within the valley, the vegetation consists of woody plants, shrubs and marsh grass. The vegetation of the tuffaceous rocks of the rocky outcrop on which stands Civita, is limited to a few species with low cover.