We had breakfast at the hotel, then drove to Civita di Bagnoregio. This town is perched on a island of tufa rock (volcanic). The only connection to the outside world is by a long pedestrian bridge from Bagnoregio. Civita's history goes back to Etruscan and ancient Roman times. In the Middle Ages, Bagnoregio was a suburb of Civita, which had a population of 4,000. Eventually Bagnoregio surpassed Civita in population. Now there are only two original residents of Civita. Most of the town has been bought up by rich Italians looking for vacation residences. Bagnoregio is a Renaissance style town while Civita is from the Middle Ages. Some have named Civita the 'dead city'.
I am quite bummed to say that I left my camera in the room this morning and did not get any pictures of Civita. Katrina took a bunch and I will post a link when she sorts through them. This was one of my favorite places of the trip!
Once you find parking in Bagnoregio, you must hike down a long steep hill about 2/3rds of the way to the valley floor then cross a pedestrian bridge that climbs steeply up to the gates of Civita. We chose to follow the Rick Steve's walking tour and really enjoyed ourselves. The town is so small that you can explore the whole thing in less than an hour.
We crossed through the Etruscan arch on our way into town and checked out a Renaissance palace with only its front facade intact. The rest has fallen into the valley below. Did I mention that tufa is a very soft rock, so the entire rock that this town is perched on has been slowly eroding away since it was first inhabited.
We also visited the piazza, Civita's only one. On the main piazza sits the cathedral that dates to 1699. We wandered down each of the side streets that all deadend into gardens or the cliffsides. At the opposite end of town (only a 5 minute walk) we headed down the steps and followed the trail to see Etruscan caves built into the rock under the town. Some of the caves have been used as stables, another is a chapel. Farther down the trail Brandon found an Etruscan tunnel that led straight through the rock and out the other side. It was built tall enough for a woman to carry a jug of water on her head. It is believed to have been a shortcut to the river and for the farmers to reach their fields. Villagers hid in this tunnel during WWII bombing raids.
We made the tough climb back into town and rewarded ourselves by popping into Bruschette con Prodotti Locali, thanks to Rick's suggestion. We each enjoyed some fantastic bruschette, one of our favorite treats. It's fantastic because Brandon now loves tomatoes. In fact, he loved them so much that after we wandered the rest of town, we stopped in Antico Frantoio Bruschetteria and had some more. Bruschetta for lunch, life doesn't get much better.
We were quite wind blown on our journey across the pedestrian bridge as we left town. Apparently residents often must hold on the the hand rails due to the high winds that sweep through the valley. We sure believe it!
We headed back to Orvieto, stopping at our hotel to park the car. The GPS took us on a diffent route than it did in the morning and we ended up driving through the restricted traffic zone and right out onto the main piazza. Last time we drove accidently drove through a restricted traffic zone (Florence) we got hit with an 80 euro ticket. This time we hope to fair better. The hotel took our information down and will give it to the police, since the hotel is within the zone.
It was raining when we headed out again. We had to grab our umbrellas, and I remembered my camera. We were all in the mood for some gelato and found some on the main piazza by the Duomo.
The Duomo
We ended up eating our gelato in the entry to the Museo Claudio Faina e Museo Civico, so we decided to get out of the rain and check it out. Most of the museum centers around a collection of Etruscan artifacts. They also have a great display of Roman coins. Brandon really enjoyed the coins and the childrens guide.
Etruscan artifacts
Brandon reads the childrens guide
The piazza was wet but still very busy
This evening we attended a concert in the Duomo, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino - direttore: Zubin Mehta. RAI, one of the major Italian TV stations, recorded the event for future broadcast. The orchestra played music by Bach, Schubert and Brahms. What a great event to attend! A concert in the Orvieto Duomo in Italy. We are so lucky to be here!!!
RAI production trucks for the taping of the concert
The Duomo was colorfuly lit for the event.
ps - Brandon read and slept through most of the performance.
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