This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
The ruins of Saint Bonaventure's house in Civita di Bagnoregio: the story of a staircase suspended in mid-air
In the heart of Civita di Bagnoregio, clinging to the fragile tufa spur, stand the ruins of St Bonaventure's house. This is no grand monument, but what remains of the dwelling where the theologian Giovanni Fidanza — later known as St Bonaventure — was born. Its story is bound to that of the village itself, marked by centuries of landslides that have left behind only a fragment of the house and a staircase suspended in the void.
A theologian who inspired Giotto
This is where the man who would become Minister General of the Franciscans grew up. His most celebrated legacy is the Legenda Maior, the official biography of St Francis that became Giotto's primary source. His words guided the painter through the famous fresco cycle in the Upper Basilica of Assisi — a profound connection with the great tradition of Italian art.
What remains of the house today
Very little survives of the Saint’s birthplace, which was partly converted into a church in 1524. A violent earthquake in 1695 and relentless erosion have left only a single wall standing, on which a small shrine with a bust of the saint can be found today. Below it is a small grotto, identified by some as his place of study and prayer.
The suspended staircase
The element that draws the eye today is an iron staircase. Suspended in mid-air and closed to visitors for safety reasons, its presence carries a powerful symbolic weight. It reminds us of the fragility of Civita and compels us to imagine life here centuries ago, in a place that even then seemed cut off from the rest of the world.
The ruins are visible from the outside, and require no entrance ticket or specific visiting hours. They are located in the village of Civita di Bagnoregio, access to which is however subject to an admission fee
