Civita di Bagnoregio doesn’t have any young inhabitants. Those born here have all left, lured away by the dazzle of more modern places where they can take part in Italy’s economic Renaissance. And as old people become frail, they move into apartments in nearby Bagnoregio. The remaining full-time families cater to visitors.

To truly live the town, you have to stay more than a couple of hours. You have to get out and about and  talk to people. Take a seat in the piazza, and watch the locals go about their day… perhaps with a glass of local wine in hand? It’s a social jigsaw puzzle, and each person fits. Cats, the fastest-growing segment of the population, scratch their itches on age-old stones.

Civita di Bagnoregio actually has a wide selection of accomodation for visitors from luxury apartments to budget sleeps that do the trick just as well.

In the summer months, the residents can spend all evening outdoors gossiping and its only then, when all the day trippers have left, that you can truly get a sense of this rural life and this gorgeous town.