The 'City in the Sky' of Italy

The 'City in the Sky' of Italy, the old town of Civita di Bagnoregio, also known as the old town of Bagnoregio, is located on a hilltop in the province of Viterbo in the Lazio region of Italy, and is a suburb of the municipality of Bagnoregio. It is nestled among the limestone mountains between Rome and Florence, and the only access is a high bridge. The town is built on fragile volcanic tuff and has been listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of the '100 Most Endangered Sites', while Westerners call it the 'Dying City'. It is the place of inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's animated film 'Castle in the Sky'. This is an ancient city that is disappearing. Once a bustling city on the European trade route, it has transformed into an 'island' on land due to earthquakes, soil erosion, and other reasons. The sense of desolation in the buildings here makes one feel as if they have stepped into a distant realm. The stone houses have been worn by the years to the point of having no edges. When there is fog, the town appears to float in the clouds, ethereal and illusory, like a city in the heavens. The 'City in the Sky' has a permanent population of about 100 people in the summer, but in the winter, there are barely a dozen. The town is lively during the day with tourists from all directions, but at night it is truly quiet to the point of being eerie, with the wind blowing through the valley serving as a 'lullaby'. According to geologists, 2500 years ago when the Etruscans lived here, it was still a plain. What a transformation of the world!