12 Italian ghost towns

Everyone knows about Pompeii – a perfectly preserved Roman city, buried for centuries during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. But on the territory of Italy, there are other, less well-known ghost towns left by people after major natural disasters. From simple artist communities to perfect movie sets, these settlements are truly magnificent in their grim grandeur.

A recent addition to the list of Italian ghost towns. Romagnano al Monte was a small village in Salerno that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1980.

The earthquake then claimed 3,000 lives. The survivors decided to relocate rather than rebuild their old homes. They moved a few kilometers away, to a safer region, and part of the settlement remained undisturbed.

In the 2000s, this place became a tourist attraction. Despite the fact that this ghost town is only 30 years old, and here and there there are such signs of modernity as electrical wiring (or rather what is left of it), Romagnano al Monte

it already looks like a medieval ruin.

Several factors contributed to the fact that this medieval town, located at the foot of the hills, turned into a ghost town.

For example, war, landslides and earthquakes. This town is located on the rise of the Italian "boot" (on the map), in the province of Matera. It was founded in 540 AD. Despite the long history of the city, between 1892 and 1922, most of its inhabitants moved to other regions of Italy or even to America.

A landslide in 1963 drove away the remaining 1,800 residents. The remaining ghost town became a tourist attraction and the setting for many films. Scenes from Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Agent 007: Quantum of Mercy, and Save Grace were filmed here.

Ancient town in Savona (north-west Italy) it was abandoned – it immediately becomes clear, at the first glance at the empty streets and houses.

However, very little information is known about the city itself – when it was founded or why people moved from here. It is believed that the reason for this was the earthquake that hit the coast at the end of the XIX century.

In 1887, for example, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale occurred. However, if you want to see the city in an abandoned state-hurry up, because recently the Italian authorities decided to revive it.

The same earthquake that shook Balestrino also hit this beautiful town. As a result, more than 2,000 people who lived here died.

In general, this was the first earthquake that was measured by a seismograph created by the Italian Filippo Secci. The old village was abandoned, and the inhabitants moved to the New Bussana.

Since the 1950s, people began to live here illegally, and in the 1960s, artists founded their own community on the territory of the town.

Despite repeated attempts by the government to evict them, the Society of International Artists remains in the city to this day. They live on the funds received from the sale of their works to tourists.

This town is located in the region of Calambria (southern Italy) it was founded by the Greeks in 640 BC. In 1793, a catastrophic earthquake occurred here.

The earthquake was so terrible that residents moved to the nearby town of Melito Porto Salvo. The city rises above the Ionian Sea and looks like an open-air museum, because its former residents were forced to abandon their homes and belongings.

The city was empty until in the 60s it attracted the attention of volunteers who were ready to revive it. Pentedattilo is currently hosting a film festival and is full of artists looking for inspiration from its ruins.