Farewell to Indiana Jones of Civitella Cesi

The  tiny  hilltop hamlet of Civitella Cesi lies at the  end of a long, winding road through the  Etruscan countryside near Blera. 

entrance to Civitella Cesi 

It   is  a place  where time has literally stood still, an icon of  agrarian Lazio where  the ancient  country ways are  very much alive. 

book for  signatures  

We  had come back to Civitella  after many years   for  the funeral of a special person, Angelo Bartoli, creator of the experimental archeological center Antiquitates .

 entrance  to the tiny church

 The Center, created by Angelo many decades ago,  is  known worldwide for its  archeology courses, conferences, and summer programs for  students that combine sports with hands-on workshops.

funeral announcement 

The tiny piazza was overflowing with people come to pay their respects to  the area’s most important citizen. The men stood on one side, the women on the other, moving  with the sun and trying to  escape the chilly wind blowing up from the valley. 

Civitella's men  paying  respects  to Angelo

The derelict  Torlonia palace/castle at the far end of the piazza  was a sorry sight, with its   broken windows and overgrown  moat.

Torlonia palazzo 

main  street, Civitella 

following the sun 

The village’s single street  populated with cats and  curtained  doorways with  Vendesi  signs  attached.

  Once a year  this street is  the venue for  a popular  festa  dedicated  to fettuccine  al tartufo. It is hard to believe  that 10,000 people  made their way to Civitella  for this gastronomic festival   last August. 

 in  respect  the casket is carried through the town 

 Angelo was remembered  by colleagues  and friends during  a conference  in Vetralla’s library yesterday where we viewed  a TV film   entitled “In the footsteps of the Etruscans”  where he was  described  as  the “Indiana Jones of Civitella Cesi”.