Italy has hundreds of abandoned towns. Earthquakes, landslides, emigration, and volcanic eruptions have emptied entire communities. Some are being reclaimed. Most are not.
Plan a trip here →1. Craco, Basilicata — the iconic one. Abandoned after 1963 landslides. Guided tours €10. Film location for Mel Gibson and James Bond. 2. Civita di Bagnoregio, Lazio — technically not abandoned (10 residents), but the crumbling tufa plateau is winning. 3. Roscigno Vecchia, Campania — abandoned 1902 due to landslides. One man (Giuseppe Spagnuolo) refused to leave and lived there alone until his death in 2018. 4. Pentedattilo, Calabria — a hand-shaped rock (penta daktylos, five fingers) with a ruined village climbing it. Being slowly repopulated by artists. 5. Consonno, Lombardy — a medieval village demolished in the 1960s by a millionaire who built a "Las Vegas of Brianza." It failed, flooded, and was abandoned. Nature is reclaiming the ruins. 6. Balestrino, Liguria — castle and medieval borgo abandoned after 1953 earthquake. The new town is below. 7. Apice Vecchia, Campania — frozen in 1962 (earthquake evacuation), still has 1960s signs, cars, and shop interiors. 8. Poggioreale, Sicily — destroyed in the 1968 Belice earthquake, left exactly as it fell.
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