A historic village in a precarious position, Civita di Bagnoregio is a living testament to the resilience and ingenuity of its inhabitants and protectors, and an ongoing chronicle of the region’s natural and cultural history.

No doubt, the town’s unlikely location immediately jumps out. It’s perched high up on a plateau of volcanic rock, and all around it stretches the rugged badlands valley, Valle dei Calanchi. For those traveling in-person to Civita di Bagnoregio, this bridge is the primary way in and out. From here we can see just how isolated the town really is; we also get a sense of its grandeur and striking beauty.

It looks like something out of a fantasy series, or a surreal dream. To understand the uniqueness of this place, we’ve got to go back—way back, about 3 million years ago—to when the Valle dei Calanchi was actually a sea floor. This sea-floor was composed of clay deposits, which are still around, but buried deep under all the rock that now makes up what we see. This is one of the reasons that the land here is so susceptible to erosion—this base layer of clay. It’s one of the deepest challenges Civita di Bagnoregio faces.