Dominic Smith's novel Return to Valetto was in part inspired by his visit to Civita di Bagnoregio, a town roughly 60 miles north of Rome. Known as "Il paese che muore" or "The Dying City," this tiny village sits atop a crumbling column of clay and tufa (a type of soft volcanic rock common in the region). As the column continues to erode the city's livable area decreases; the village will eventually be destroyed.

Civita di Bagnoregio, frequently referred to as just Civita, was founded around 500 BCE by the Etruscans, a civilization that ruled central Italy from approximately the 8^th to the 3^rd centuries BCE. The city was ideally situated on a towering plateau rising out of a valley between two rivers, the Rio Chiaro and the Rio Torbido. Its height gave it a commanding view of the territory below and protected its residents from floods and malaria that plagued the lowlands. Rio Torbido is a tributary located near the mouth of the Tiber River – a strategically important waterway...