Civita di Bagnoregio Moonrise (HDR)

From the photographer: “Civita di Bagnoregio is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy and every year is visited by hundreds of thousands of people who come from all over the world to admire its timeless appearance and the magical atmosphere that you can perceive walking through its narrow alleys. The dying village is located in the middle of the Valle dei Calanchi, between the two valleys called Fossato del Rio Torbido and Fossato del Rio Chiaro, which were once the access roads leading from the Tiber valley to Lake Bolsena. Today this small village officially counts only 16 inhabitants and to reach it you have to cross a long reinforced concrete viaduct that leads from the nearest hill to the gateway to the historic center.

The history of this little reality has its roots in the Etruscan era, when a mysterious people had colonized many areas of central Italy, and then became a lively civitas in Roman times. For centuries the inhabitants of Civita have had to fight against the erosion and landslides that progressively limited the area of the old town and always create new access routes to the town, such as the Bucaione, the access tunnel dug directly into the sedimentary rock of the mountain.
The current aspect of the village dates back to the end of the Middle Ages and since then has remained almost intact, giving to this place the fascinating aura of a place where time has stopped. The condition of structural instability, however, has led to a gradual emptying of the country. Already in the mid-nineteenth century there lived only a handful of people, while most of the inhabitants had moved to the Municipality of Bagnoregio. Today Civita is experiencing a new phase of development, thanks to the massive flow of tourists who come every year to admire it and which has necessitated forms of controlled access in order not to damage the fragile balance of ancient structures. Here are some secrets and destinations not to be missed on a trip to Civita di Bagnoregio, the dying village. To get to Civita you must first go from the town of Bagnoregio and then get to via Bonaventura Tecchi where you can leave your car and continue along the long bridge that leads to the center of the “Country that Dies“.

Just before the trail you can admire the suggestive statue placed by the administration of Bagnoregio that every day greets Civita on the other side of the deep valley. While crossing the bridge you can admire the spectacular landscape of this area of upper Lazio, a panorama made of valleys and gullies dug by millennia of water erosion, and then reach the Porta Santa Maria. In the past Civita had five access doors that, over the centuries, were rendered unusable by the progressive landslide and erosion that hit this place.”

Technical Details: Canon 1Dx Mk2 and Canon EF 300 f/4L IS, photo-composite sum of 7 shots (HDR) for landscape and 2 shots for sky and moon