Headingt for the Hills

Civita surrounded by its Canyon

One of the reasons we chose to stay around Siena was its proximity to several small medieval villages allowing us to explore the area in easy day trips. Today we visited Civita and Orvieto.

Both are walled villages on top of hills but Civita is truly remote as it sits on top of a hill that is surrounded by a canyon and is only accessible by footbridge built in 1965. Before that there was a natural land bridge but it fell into the canyon as part of a massive slide. Civita only has 14 permanent residents, mostly in their 80’s. However, many of the homes are being purchased as summer residences by out-of-towners. There is also a multi million Euro restoration taking place to ensure Civita is preserved for future generations. While we were there, a film crew had taken over the village and was shooting a historical film about Pinocchio so we did not really have a chance to properly explore the inside of the village. What we did see had a lot of character and was well preserved.

Rita on the Footbridge to Civita


Filming Pinocchio in the Main Piazza of Civita

Hill Town of Orvieto from the Valley

Orvieto is much larger and although a hill town is accessible by car. You park outside of the walls and explore by foot. The town sits 1,000 feet above the valley floor and most of the buildings and ramparts made from very soft and porous volcanic rock. It gives the town a totally different look than other medieval towns we have visited. The front of their Cathedral is also quite amazing as it looks like an Alter you would find inside the Church. It was completed in 1330 and has an array of mosaics, stained glass and sculptures. We liked the town as it did not feel touristy and it has unbelievable views of the valley below.

The Beautiful front of the Orvieto Duomo

Rita on the Orvieto Ramparts looking at the Valley below