Bagnoregio – Civita, History and Valle dei Calanchi

The Museo Geologico e delle Frane displays a stratigraphically collected fossil collection of marine molluscs dating from the Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene. For your travel planning, this site provides a clear focus on natural history. The other themes range from historical gates and churches to vehicles and recurring events.

Civita: Access, Tickets and Excursion Routes

The Porta Santa Maria is the only entrance to the village of Civita. Its ancient structure, carved into the tuff, is of Etruscan origin. Admission tickets for the village of Civita di Bagnoregio are available at the ticket offices. For every excursion route in the Valle dei Calanchi programme, the starting point and return are in the village of Civita di Bagnoregio. Those choosing Civita as their main focus can take the access route, admission ticket and itinerary of these excursions into account in the same day's planning.

The Museo Geologico di Civita is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during standard time and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during daylight saving time. This distinction is relevant when planning a day in Civita, particularly if the museum visit is combined with an excursion route in the Valle dei Calanchi.

Churches and Historical Heritage

The Chiesa di San Donato was built around the 6th century on the site of a pre-existing pagan temple. The church also houses a famous and particularly valuable wooden crucifix from the 15th century, from the Flemish school.

The Concattedrale dei Ss. Nicola, Donato e Bonaventura houses an artistically designed silver reliquary in the form of a blessing arm, containing the bones of Saint Bonaventure's arm. Of the original Casa Natale di San Bonaventura, only the basement and some fragments of the walls remain. These two examples present sacred art and the surviving structural fabric of a historic house in very different forms.

Museums and Recurring Traditions

The Museo Taruffi in Bagnoregio displays vintage cars and a collection of minicars. The Processione del Venerdì Santo takes place annually in Bagnoregio. In Civita, the traditional Tonna race is held during the patron-saint festivals in June and September. For your travel planning, vehicles and recurring festivals complement the geological and sacred themes with further specific interests.

The Rocks of the Valle dei Calanchi

The cliff of Civita in the Valle dei Calanchi has a clayey and clayey-sandy basal layer of marine origin. The layers above it consist of tuff and lava rock. This sequence forms a distinctive natural-history aspect of the area. It also makes the Valle dei Calanchi interesting for travellers who wish to view the landscape not merely as a backdrop, but in terms of its geological formation.

Other Destinations

Canino, Montecalvello, Gallese, Civitella Dʼagliano, Cava, Marina Di Pescia Romana, Roccalvecce, Ronciglione

To the higher-level travel overview: Viterbo.