The bigger part ot the top 10 tourist attractions of Bagnoregio is located in the the picuresque suburb of Civita. This is the oldest part of the town, which is separated from present-day Bagnoregio as the intervening land has been left fallow by erosion.
Top 10 tourist attractions Civita di Bagnoregio
01. San Donato Church
The Chiesa di San Donato was built on the site of a pagan temple in the 5th century. The current church is the result of a reconstruction in the 17th century.
02. San Nicola and San Donato Church
The San Nicola and San Donato Church was only declared a cathedral after an earthquake caused a lot of damage to Civita di Bagnoregio and San Donato Church in the town.
03. Porta di Santa Maria
The Porta di Santa Maria is the gate at the end of the walkway that forms the only entrance to Civita. The gate is decorated with two lions playing with human heads in memory of defeated tyrants.
04. Sant’Agostino Church
The Sant’Agostino Church is an originally Romanesque church transformed into Gothic style in the 14th century. Highlights are the bell tower and the cloister next to the church, along with the well in that cloister.
05. Parco di Rimembranza and Pyramid
Bagnoregio itself features a pyramid built in 1891 where the remains of Garibaldi’s warriors killed in the battles of 1867 are buried. The pyramid stands in the public park Parco della Rimembranza (Viale Diaz) and is 12 metres high. It is triangular and each side is 10 metres long.
06. Porta Albana
The 16th-century Porta Albana was the main gateway to Bagnoregio and is attributed by some to Vignola, by others to Niccolo Salvi.
07. Piazza Sant’Agostini
Piazza Sant’Agostino is home to the Chiesa dell’Annunziata and the Palazzo del Municipio, among others. In the centre of the square is the granite Monument to San Bonaventura, created in 1897 by neo-classical sculptor Cesare Aureli. The three bas-reliefs on the pedestal depict events from the saint’s own life.
08. Tempietto di San Bonaventura
To the right of the Porta Albana is the Tempietto di San Bonaventura, with a Greek floor plan. The architect was Pietro Gagliardi.
09. Palazzo Comunale
The Palazzo Comunale is one of Civita’s most interesting buildings and is characterised by a beautiful bell gable.
10. Belvedere
Through a long avenue, one can reach the Belvedere from which there is a magnificent view of the area around Civita di Bagnoregio, with the town itself in the foreground and the lunar-like badlands (calanchi) behind it. On the east side of the Belvedere, the Franciscan Monastery used to stand. Here, the so-called Grotto of San Bonaventura has now been excavated in the tuff. According to tradition, the saint was cured of a serious illness in this grotto by San Francesco himself.
More things to see in Bagnoregio
Palazzo Colesanti and Palazzo degli Alemanni are two Renaissance-style palaces in Civita di Bagnoregio. The Palazzo degli Alemanni is the seat of the Museo Geologico e delle Frane (“Museum of Geology and Landslides”).
