I don’t do well in the heat.
And I don’t do well with bugs or spiders.
You might call me a wimp, even.
In Bend, we definitely get hot summers but it’s the high desert so I’ve grown accustomed to the dry heat.
In Italy, it’s not dry heat. It’s moist, sticky heat.
ICK — right?
And there are more bugs than I’m used to, too. Like spiderpedes (a term coined by my older brother because that’s exactly what they look like), hornets, and now I’ve learned from my lovely dear sweet husband that tarantulas are named after the region of Taranto, Italy.
SUPER AWESOME — right?
So why am I here, you might wonder? I might wonder that, too, until I see places like this:
We arrived in my favorite town in Italy on a hot Thursday afternoon. And because the town is only accessible by foot (or a golf-cart-style vehicle!) across a long bridge that gets steep at the end, it’s pretty common to arrive in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy breathing heavily and dripping with sweat.
But it’s OH SO WORTH IT.
Scott and I came to Civita in 2019 and stayed one night in the tiny town that currently has thirteen full-time residents. Let me say that again — thirteen full-time residents.
There are far more cats in Civita than there are humans.
Nearly four years ago, I sent the kids a postcard saying, “I can’t wait to show you this place someday!”
And here we are — a family of four, staying two nights in the magical village that is filled with tourists by day and completely clears out at night. This is when the cats come out and charm children into loving the tiny ancient town as much as adults do.
So come along with me as I show you a bit of the town in this video.
And it’s such a great place, I’m going to write a separate post to share even more with you.
Rome? Population two million, eight hundred thousand. One post.
Civita di Bagnoregio? Population thirteen and cats. Two posts. (Soon.)
I told you in Naples, I’m just not a city girl. 😆
This is part of a series about our family travels this summer through Italy — and beyond. You can start from the beginning of the blog series here or follow along on Instagram.
