#4 Civita di Bagnoregio, “located in a vast canyon atop a pinnacle ruled by wind and erosion”

Civita is one of the most beautiful places in the world. To get there we drove to the top of Bagnoregio manoeuvering some tiny roads in a large van. After parking up we could see Civita in the distance.

Gazing up at what looked like a magical citadel in the sky, we climbed up what seemed like a thousand steps to get to the bottom of the thin bridge which links it to the rest of the world. It hangs suspended above a deep gorge overgrown with gorse. No cars are permitted to cross it – only bicycles, donkeys and people.

Before we went on holiday to Tuscany, I was a couple of years into writing Love, Life and Lemons. The moment we walked into the piazza in Civita it felt like coming home as it was exactly the way I had imagined and described it in my book. 

This is the square where Corrado’s osteria is situated; where the Festival of the Madonna is held and Corrado and Giuseppe carry the statue through the tiny streets.

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Sadly, despite its rich history, it is a dying city. As a consequence of being ravaged by earthquakes and landslides over hundreds of years there are now barely any residents. However, there is one day of the year when it is completely rammed. A donkey race named La Tonna is held there and attracts huge amounts of visitors. One of the lemon tree stories in my book is based on this tradition.

“The plaza was full of anticipation. The sandy buildings seemed to quiver with excitement as their balconies were decorated with large banners. Each flag represented the contradaand rider and there were twelve in all. Danilo’s was black and red and fluttered proudly in the breeze.”

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San Donato Church was built over a Roman temple in the 7^ThCentury and has a twelve hundred year old bell tower.

“The small Italian piazza in Civita was sleeping. It was overlooked by the peach coloured church that had guarded it like a faithful sentinel for hundreds of years.”

Civita is the birthplace of Saint Bonaventura who was friends with Thomas Aquinas. His name means Good Fortune because he was saved from death when he was young. He still resides inside the church below an ornate altar in a glass box. It made us feel a little strange looking at the relics of a person; but his life inspired another of my lemon stories.

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Want to read more of my first book, Love, Life and Lemons? Then make sure to grab your copy now!