From Civitavecchia: the Dying City and Monster Park Tour

About this tour

This seven-and-a-half-hour excursion from Civitavecchia takes you to two remarkable sites that reveal Italy's stranger side. Begin at Civita di Bagnoregio, a village perched atop eroding clay cliffs and linked to the mainland by a single footbridge—a landscape in slow collapse where weathering has carved away the earth for centuries. Then venture to Bomarzo's Sacred Wood, a Renaissance sculpture garden where outsized stone figures occupy impossible angles, defying perspective and logic. Created in the 1500s by Prince Vicino Orsini, it remains one of Europe's most unsettling art installations, blending mannerist ambition with dreamlike surrealism.

Highlights

• Footbridge crossing into Civita's isolated hilltop settlement
• Witness active geological erosion reshaping the terrain
• Sixteenth-century Sacred Wood sculpture park
• Colossal Renaissance statues in jarring proportions
• Skip-the-line access to both attractions
• English-speaking driver and shared transport included

What to expect

You'll depart Civitavecchia by coach, arriving first at Civita di Bagnoregio around mid-morning. After crossing the narrow pedestrian bridge, you'll wander the village's quiet streets and observe the dramatic cliff edges where erosion is visibly ongoing. The walk is moderately paced but requires steady footing. In early afternoon, you'll travel to Bomarzo and explore the Sacred Wood at your own pace—a labyrinthine garden where enormous stone creatures, demons, and mythological beings emerge from woodland. The statues' distorted scale creates genuine disorientation. Bring water and wear sturdy shoes; the ground is uneven throughout.

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