Hi, I'm planning a trip to Tuscany area in Oct/Nov, and I want to visit Civita on the way from Orvieto to Montepulciano. But here on this website I found the following on the update page:
"Civita has died. (Long live Civita.) Maria, the last life-long resident of Italy's ultimate hill town, is too frail to live in the town now. Her husband, Peppone, passed away earlier this year, and will be missed."
Does this mean the town is closed to tourists, or can I still go there?
No, the town is definitely open. Lots of part-time residents have homes there and there are still a handful of full-time residents. There are several shops, the B&B, a couple of places to eat. They're fine.
I guess what you read just means that the last old timer, the "heart" of the town, has had to move on.
I entered civita in the search box and the page here says that it's mostly being bought up by wealther Italians from elsewhere. So it still exists, just doesn't have the full time residents it used to. Note that Maria is described as the last "life-long" resident, not the last resident period.
Thanks for your reply! Although it's sad that Civita is dying down, I'm relieved that I can still go there.
April, 2008 we were on a RS Village Italy tour and went to Civita. One of our tour members had brought a picture of herself taken with Maria quite a few years ago, I can't remember the exact number. So they took another picture together and Maria kept the old one! She really seemed to enjoy the picture taking, and I'm sorry to hear that she's not doing well. Does anyone have information about where she is, who is taking care of her?
thanks
I am sorry to hear about Maria's husband and that she can no longer live in Civita. Our family visited Civita in August 2007 and stopped in to see Maria's garden. She was so sweet and the pictures we took with her always make me smile.
