history of Civita di Bagnoregio
We know that the town of Civita di Bagnoregio certainly has Etruscan origins, as can be borne witness to the many findings that were made in the territory on which today stands this beautiful village of Lazio, the first certain news on the existence of this village date back to the sixth century , when the town of Bagnorea is mentioned as one of the main episcopal seats of the peninsula.
The history of the city is deeply linked to the dominations of the Roman Empire, the population of the Goths, the Lombards and, in particular, the influence exerted by the Pope and the Papal State.
Civita di Bagnoregio also belonged to the family of the Monaldeschi, already lords of the city of Orvieto, following various dominations, starting from 1100, the city of Civita di Bagnoregio manages to reach the status of Libero Comune, while constantly undergoing political influence and administrative of the nearby Orvieto power.
1221 is the year of the birth of San Bonaventura, patron saint and symbol of the town of Civita di Bagnoregio, more than a century later, a terrible plague epidemic, significantly decreased the population of the city and, during 1494 , after a strong economic and social recovery, the citizens succeeded in creating a siege to the castle of the Monaldeschi family, to destroy it and to obtain the much suffered independence, always during the XVI century the city underwent the siege and the domination of the King of France Charles VIII and, a few years later, Civita di Bagnoregio lost its independence, becoming part of the Queens of Cardinals-Governors, established by the will of Pope Alexander VI Borgia.
Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the city, for years subjected to continuous phenomena of soil erosion, suffers two violent earthquakes, which will undermine its stability and its structural security, as a result of these phenomena, most of the population decides to abandon the village, going to create a new village that today is recognized with the name of Bagnoregio, starting from 1867 the town was the stage of violent clashes between the troops of Garibaldi and the Papal States, following which the village became a part of the Kingdom of Italy.
