The Lovely Hilltop Town of Civita di Bagnoregio

The lovely Civita di Bagnoregio is a small Italian hill town in the province of Viterbo, in central Italy. The town is located atop a highpoint rising high above a vast canyon that is unceasingly being eroded by two streams flowing in the valleys below and by the action of rain and wind. This beautiful 2,500-years-old town is under constant threat of devastation as its edges are falling off, leaving the buildings built on the plateau to crumble.

Civita di Bagnoregio is actually two towns. Civita is on a hill reachable only by a long stone walkway that begins at the end of the road from neighboring town Bagnoregio. Once, Civita was the larger community and Bagnoregio the satellite town. Nowadays, Civita has only around 6 year-round residents determined to keep this little fragment of rock alive.

Civita di Bagnoregio was bringing into being by the Etruscans about 2,500 years ago. At that time, it was a vital city for its position along an ancient road interlinked to a dense network of trade routes. Civita’s decay started in the 16th century triggered by a dreadful earthquake which, affecting serious damages to the roads and buildings compelled plentiful inhabitants to leave the city. The constant seismic activities that followed in the course of the centuries brought a continue series of landslides. By the end of the 17th century, the bishop and the municipal government were enforced to move to Bagnoregio, and by the 19th century, Civita was turning into a lovely an island. Bagnoregio continues as a small but flourishing town, while Civita became recognized in Italian as il paese che muore ("the town that is dying"). It’s only recently that Civita began experiencing a tourist revival.

Civita is an attractive medieval town with architecture spanning several hundred years. The town’s isolation has allowed it to withstand most disturbances of modernity as well as the destruction brought by two world wars. Notwithstanding its nickname, during the tourist season, Civita bustles with day trippers.

Carezza lake or Karersee Lake Italy

The Karersee is located in South Tyrol Italy and is considered one of the most beautiful of the many Alpine lakes. The lake lies in the western Dolomites, about 25 kilometers from Bolzano at an altitude of 1,520 metres in the municipality of Nova Levante. It is not particularly large: approximately 300 m long and 130 m wide. Lake of Carezza in Val d'Ega valley is well known for its wonderful colors and also called "Lec de Ergobando" and can be called Carezza Lake is a pearl of the Dolomiti. Nestled between an ancient forest of grand firs and the Latemar mountain is place of legends and beauty a nymph lives under its emerald waters.

Lake Carezza is the most beautiful lake in the Alps, because its reflection of the Rosengarten creates massive twinkles on the surface like jewels sparkling in the sun. Legend has it that a magician smashed the rainbow he had created to seduce a mermaid into the lake, sending lovely colors tumbling into the water. The chirping birds loved listening to the water nymph, but as soon as they heard some strange noise, they would twitter nervously and fly around in fear. Thus, the nymph would have time to dive into the lake and disappear, and never came into danger. The lake is mainly fed by subterranean springs from the Latemar massif.

The lake depth and size changes from season to season and depends on the weather, and at its max depth is 22 m deep. The little mountain lake is renowned in particular for the smooth, deep green of its water and the lovely backdrop of the mountains with the Catinaccio and Latemar mountains in the background. The lake is associated with many South Tyrolean legends and numerous writers and painters have selected the lake as the motif for their paintings and tales. The lake can be reached on the State road 241 (Val d'Ega State road, also recognized as the Dolomites State road). The road to the Passo di Costalunga, which runs in close nearness to the lake, is particularly busy in summer and during the day causes a certain amount of trouble. T

he lake is fenced and it is prohibited to walk on its banks. The lake is at its most striking in the evening or early morning, when the streams of tourists have not yet monopolized the nearby car park and the Catinaccio and Latemar mountains are reflected with the green of the Carezza forest in the crystal-clear water. A beautiful water nymph once lived in the lake.  The Lake of Carezza is still filled with the brilliant colors of the rainbow and why the Ladin people call it the ‘Lec de ergobando’, the Rainbow Lake.

Double Tree in Piemonte Italy

A tree growing atop another tree, it’s not a sight that you get to see every day, but here you can know about a unique tree is growing in between Grana and Casorzo in Piemonte, Italy, recognized as the “double tree of Casorzo” or Bialbero de Casorzo in Italian.  This is a mulberry tree on top of which a cherry tree grows rises well above the mulberry tree on which it stands. The odd tree is also recognized as Grana Double Tree. No one exactly knows for the exact reasons how this is happened; perhaps various bird dropped a seed on top of the mulberry tree, which then grew roots through the hollow trunk of the host tree to reach the soil.

Though trees growing parasitically over another tree are not rare, but they usually do not reach the size and lifespan as seen in this specific example, as there is not adequate humus and space available where they grow. Large “double-trees”, also called Epiphytes, like the Bialbero de Casorzo is a rarity. Both trees combined together make for an inspiring sight, with their branches spreading 5 meters across. The double tree’s lifespan has been astonishingly long, given the detail that the cherry tree receives all its nourishment via the mulberry tree. Well, though not the only double-tree is probably the most impressive-looking trees in the world. Both trees are thriving from the same source of nutrients, and yet they are able to share very well.

Source: Charismatic Planet

Breathtaking Odle Dolomites Mountain Range of Italy

Dolomites Mountains are a magical place where days go by in peace, where you always view the brightness of the Pale Mountains. More than centuries a lot of words have been used to describe the beauty of these mountains, but of a thing I’m certain: the Dolomites Mountains are true natural heaven, a rich show of the environment with rocks, woods and pastures. 

It high in the Italian Alps, within the famous mountain range called the Dolomites, separating the Funes valley from the Gardena valley, sit the breathtaking Odle Mountains. Between all the mountains of the alpine chain, and the rest of the world, Dolomites are unique for their beauty and form. 

The breathtaking Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2009, and have been called some of the most good-looking mountain landscapes found anywhere in the world with its sheer cliffs, vertical walls and deep valleys. One writer descriptively called the mountains, "flames frozen in stone."

Strolling on the Dolomites is an exclusive experience in and of itself, as you get a 360-degree view of rocks that have been transformed over thousands of years. There’re a number of different trails, from the easy, well-graded paths to the more challenging ones. They provide to hikers of all abilities. Here’re some remarkable shots of the Odle mountain group taken by various photographers. Notice that spectacularly sheer cliff.