5 Most Fascinating Abandoned Villages In Italy
From North to South: a journey through five abandoned villages in Italy
Civita di Bagnoregio
5 Most fascinating abandoned villages in Italy
Civita is a village in the municipality of Bagnoregio in the province of Viterbo, Lazio. It is famous to be a “borgo” inhabited only by a dozen people. Called “The Dying City”, it can be reached only on foot via a bridge. Behind the small village lies the Valley of the Badlands, the clay ridges on a distinctive form that create an evocative and fascinating landscape.
The village has been abandoned because of the numerous earthquakes, but today, thanks to its unique atmosphere and beauty, it is living a second life due to the many tourists visiting this enchanted place. Civita di Bagnoregio looks like a rocky island hanging in the green, its town planning is of Etruscan mold, but keeps a late medieval aspect that makes it even more fascinating.
You will also find realistic reconstructions of wine, olive oil and salami shops; be sure to visit the church of San Donato in the Romanesque style. Stroll through the small streets of Civita will be like reliving distant and never known times.
photos by Enzo Lofrano
Craco
5 Most fascinating abandoned villages in Italy
Craco is one of Italy’s most characteristic ghost towns. Located in the province of Matera, in Basilicata, this uninhabited village has been also the set for numerous films, from Christ Stopped at Eboli to 007 – Quantum of Solace, thanks to its unique landscape. To access the village is required Craco-Card or an entry card issued by the municipality for 10 €; the visit must be accompanied by a specialized guide.
The arid and rocky landscape makes the atmosphere of the small abandoned village even more appealing, and to visit it can be a truly unique experience. Numerous tourists arrive to Craco to see the ruins and walk through the alleys in a dreamlike atmosphere. The clay soil and barren coexist with the marl one: on a spur of marl calcified by the time there is a tower that for Crachesi is the “Castle”.
photos by Walter Molfese
Poggioreale
5 Most fascinating abandoned villages in Italy
After a bad earthquake in 1968, the town of Poggioreale, in the province of Trapani, in the beautiful Sicily, was abandoned. Today it is one of the Sicilian destinations preferred especially by photographers and directors. The new town was rebuilt a few kilometers away, but the old Poggioreale ruins were left there to witness the incident. Moreover, pretty intact objects and structures that hint the time has stopped.
The atmosphere strolling Poggioreale is really surreal, it is still possible to walk the main street, Corso Umberto I, and see main buildings: the City Hall, the school, the post office, the municipal theater, the church of St. Anthony of Padua.
photos by Marco Pirrello
Bussana Vecchia
Bussana Vecchia is a hamlet of the Municipality of Sanremo, Liguria. After a violent earthquake in 1887, the small village was completely abandoned and the inhabitants moved to Bussana Nuova. Up to the 60s no one was interested in the ruins of Bussana Vecchia, then came a Piedmont artist who fell in love with the place and dreamed of making a reborn for that place. That man was Mario Giani, alias Clizia. Clizia dreamed of the medieval village as an international community of artists who would take care of the place trying to revalue it. This community was born in 1961 and welcomed artists from Germany, Holland, Austria, France and England. After this experience the artists left the small village. Today Bussana Vecchia is a place suspended in time, enchanted, evocative and full of stories. Popular destination for tourists from everywhere, you can also find some resting place to stop and experience this magical village.
Pentedattilo
The Calabrian village of Pentedattilo is a true wonder! It lies on a rock that looks like a hand, there to support the place. In fact the name derives from the greek “penta daktylos” that refers to the “five fingers” of the hand. This village in Calabria has grown from a strategic place, center of life of the Mediterranean in the greek-roman age, a village gradually depopulated and then completely abandoned in the 60s of the last century due to several earthquakes.
In the 90s it returned to interest to tourists and travelers who are surprised by the beauty of this picturesque landscape. Recently started a recovery plan to enhance its traditions, which aims at realizing the “multi-thematic Park Pentedattilo” trying to give even a connotation of environmental and social sustainability.
Walking through the narrow streets of this village you will find antique houses rearranged to shops, to buy some souvenirs of the place. Mandatory stop is the Micro Museum of Popular Tradition, where you can admire traditional objects of the village life. Every year in the summer here is held the Pentedattilo Film Festival, an international festival dedicated to short films linked to the territory.
