🌉 Civita Castellana: Where History Becomes Stone and the Gaze Runs Through Gorges, Fortresses, and Silence

Perched on a tuff plateau that towers above the deep gorges of the Treja River, Civita Castellana is not a town to simply pass through—it is to be discovered, listened to, contemplated.A place where thousands of years of history blend with the austere beauty of the landscape, and where, at every corner, you can feel the echo of battles, prayers, markets, loves, and revolutions.

🛡️ From Faliscan Origins to the Great Rome

Civita Castellana has ancient roots—much older than they seem.It was founded as Falerii Veteres, capital of the Falisci, a refined and proud Italic people, allies and rivals of the Etruscans.

The Faliscan necropolises, scattered through the woods and crevices surrounding the town, are treasure chests of funeral objects, decorated ceramics, gold, and bronze, now preserved at Villa Giulia in Rome and in the Archaeological Museum of the Faliscan Territory, housed inside Forte Sangallo.

Then came the Romans. Conquered in 241 BC, the city was emptied and forced to rebuild on the plain (Falerii Novi). But the sacred plateau was not forgotten.In the era of barbarian invasions, its walls once again offered refuge. And from that moment on, Civita Castellana never ceased to live.

🕍 City of Popes, Sangallo, and Imperial Roads

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Civita Castellana became a crossroads of power, faith, and architecture.

A bishopric since Carolingian times, it hosted fleeing popes, traveling emperors, and feuding noble families.

Its peak came in 1494, when Pope Alexander VI Borgia commissioned the construction of Forte Sangallo, designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, the “fortress genius.”

Today, the Fortress is a place of memory and poetry, to be visited in silence, as you would a place that speaks in whispers.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the town saw the addition of bridges, roads, and engineering marvels: Ponte Clementino, Ponte Felice, and a new route of the Via Flaminia. Civita returned to the center of Lazio, a bastion of the Papal States and a gateway to the Maremma.

🎨 A Town of Art, Ceramics, and Craftsmanship

Walking through the historic center is like opening an ancient book, its pages gilded by time:

• The Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore, with its Cosmatesque portico, is a 12th-century masterpiece. Here, in 1770, Mozart played the organ.Pausing to imagine those notes in the silence is a moment worth the journey.

• The Town Hall and the Fountain of the Dragons reflect a sober yet powerful Renaissance, made of stone and harmony.

Civita Castellana is also a land of ceramics, a tradition begun in the 19th century and flourishing in the 20th, thanks to the skilled hands of artisans.The red of the clay, the white of the tableware, and the blue of the decorations are part of the city’s identity, still alive today in shops and ateliers.

🌿 Between Gorges, Wind, and Horizon: A Landscape That Embraces

Civita is vertical.It looks down into the deep gorges of the Treja and up toward the horizon of the Cimini Mountains.It is made of climbs and descents, wide-open panoramas, and shaded arches.

Its natural viewpoints, sudden glimpses, and unexpected silences are as inviting as a forgotten window left open onto a lost world.

🎭 Tradition, Devotion, and Popular Memory

Processions, religious feasts, and fairs dedicated to ceramics and local products mark the town’s rhythm with ancient cadence.

Holy Week, patron saint celebrations, and cultural events that fill the piazzas and cloisters help preserve a deep sense of belonging, connecting Civita’s people to their past—and projecting them toward the future.

💫 Conclusion: A Place to Stay a Little Longer

Civita Castellana is not a village to rush through.It’s a place that asks for time, attention, and respect—where history is written in stone, and emotions live between a painted ceramic and a breeze blowing across the cathedral square.

“Civita does not show itself—it reveals itself.It doesn’t impose—it lets itself be searched for.And when you find it, it’s like rediscovering a part of yourself you had forgotten.”