Civita di Bagnoregio Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Status

Civita di Bagnoregio, a small hamlet in the Alto Lazio region of Italy, known as 'the dying city' due to progressive depopulation caused by erosion, has been approved as Italy's candidate for UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2022. The nomination, titled 'The Cultural Landscape of Civita di Bagnoregio,' was endorsed by the Italian National Commission for UNESCO. The effort is a collaboration between the Lazio Region, the Municipality of Bagnoregio, the Ministry of Culture, the UNESCO Office of the General Secretariat, and the Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the metropolitan area of Rome, Viterbo, and southern Etruria. Governor Nicola Zingaretti recalled that the first appeal for support dates back to May 2015, gathering thousands of signatures and over 150 cultural figures. The Civita Association, founded in 1987, has been instrumental in preservation. The site, of Etruscan origin, features a medieval town perched on a rock spur, threatened by ongoing erosion. Minister Dario Franceschini emphasized the synergy between public and private actors. The nomination represents a step toward recognition of a cultural landscape of immense value and beauty.