Civita di Bagnoregio, a clifftop village surging out of a valley in Italy's central Lazio region, has been proposed for World Heritage Status by the Italian UNESCO commission. All going well, the "Cultural Landscape of Civita di Bagnoregio" could enter the prestigious UNESCO list in 2022, in a proposal backed by Civita and the Lazio region with the support of Italy's culture ministry.
Hailing it as the "first, important step" towards UNESCO recognition, culture minister Dario Franceschini described Civita as "a cultural landscape of enormous value and beauty." Accessible only by a steep footbrige across the Calanchi valley, the tiny mediaeval hamlet is perched on exceptionally unsound foundations, with erosion slowly reducing its size and leading to it being known as the 'città che muore' or the "dying town."
