The spectacular mediaeval hilltop town of Civita di Bagnoregio, known as the "castle in the sky", is located in the province of Viterbo, 110km north of Rome. Perched on exceptionally unsound foundations, the hamlet has gradually been reduced in size due to centuries of earthquakes and landslides which have chipped away at its soft volcanic base. The original town centre remains intact, however, surging out of the desolate Calanchi valley whose chasms and chalky cliffs resemble a mini-Grand Canyon. Christened La città che muore by the Civita-born writer Bonaventura Tecchi, this “dying town” has long been condemned by authorities over fears that its collapse into the valley is not only probable but inevitable. Today the town's community has dwindled to just 12 permanent residents, although that number increases to around 100 during the summer months. In 2015 the Lazio region's governor Nicola Zingaretti launched an appeal, calling on UNESCO to recognise Civita as a World Heritage Site. Zingaretti stated that Civita is “now in extreme and urgent need of maintenance unless we wish to deprive ourselves forever of a sentinel of our cultural history, a piece of our heritage.” The Lazio Region also injected €1.2 million in shoring up the town’s shaky foundations to protect it from the erosion that “threatens its very survival.” In September 2019 the region's campaign resulted in Civita becoming an official candidate in the prestigious UNESCO listing. If successful, its world heritage classification would ensure a steady flow of conservation funding for Civita. The concept of saving Civita, however, predates Zingaretti’s appeal by several centuries. Records show that the townspeople were taking precautions as far back as 1373 when the digging of caves was banned, along with grazing beneath the town’s cliffs, whose bedrock comprises a 60-m thick layer of tufa over an unstable base of clay and sand. #mynovgetaway #thanksgiving #mynovgetaway#thanksgiving