Orvieto - Day 14

Today we relaxed in the morning, enjoying the views of our agriturisimo, reading, and walking.

This afternoon we decided to follow another Rick Steves' suggestion and visit his favorite hill town, Civita. Ruth and Joel went exploring on their own. Werner, Susan, Rick and I set off on our adventure. We stopped first at a Lubrino for a view of Civita across the valley.

Civita is village that was begun in the Bronze Age, 1200-1000 BC. It flourished through the Etruscan period, during the time of the Romans, the Middle Ages, was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 1695 and has been eroding away since the 18th century. It was originally connected to the village of Bagnoregio by a ridge that was eroded and then bombed during WWII. In 1965, a bridge was built connecting the two villages again. Civita has a permanent population of 9 people.

We were fortunate to meet one of them on our trek over the footbridge. Tony and his late wife moved to Civita in the late 60s. They were both architects and set about trying to save the village from falling off the mountain. They began an institute in Civita where students come to work and learn. So far they have been successful in shoring up most of the buildings. We learned a lot more on the walk but I don't want to bore you with it. What a gift it was to meet Tony and talk with a couple of students that work with him.

We spent several hours exploring Civita while Werner read and took a nap in the car below. He was a great sport about it and has really done well with what I'm sure is a lot of frustration at not being able to operate the way he used to. I'm going to post a few pictures of Civita. It was hardly commercialized at all, had a little museum, a Roman well we got to go down in, and lots of amazing energy in being so ancient. I think it was one of my favorite experiences on the trip!


After our drive back to the hotel, we joined Ruth and Joel for dinner. We lucked out again and selected a restaurant by chance where we were served by the chef, had wonderful food, and given bottles of local wine to take home with us. The people in Italy have been so gracious and generous. The ones we have come in contact with have made an effort to make us feel comfortable. They have seemed to enjoy letting me practice my Italian on them and have had patience when we don't understand a word they are saying. I don't think I've ever felt so welcome in a place before!