Plague, Drought, Landslides, and Earthquakes: This Italian Ghost Town Was Hit by Every Possible Calamity

Plague, Drought, Landslides, and Earthquakes: This Italian Ghost Town Was Hit by Every Possible Calamity
Shutterstock/illpaxphotomatic
Anna Mason
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Enter into Italy’s wasteland of ancient ghost towns, long abandoned and left to slowly crumble and fade under the hot southern sun.

There are more than 6,000 vacant villages in Italy, and Craco is just one of them. It’s hard to imagine that this eerily quiet medieval village once buzzed with life.

Once known as “Golden Mountain,” the settlement sits atop a 400-meter (1,300-foot) cliff in Basilicata, one of Italy’s most earthquake-prone regions. Once a populated and flourishing hamlet, all that’s left in Craco today are the roofless shells of houses, a former monastery, a decaying church, and empty streets and plazas.

(Shutterstock/Tupungato)
Shutterstock/Tupungato
(Shutterstock/Giovanni Rinaldi)
Shutterstock/Giovanni Rinaldi
Craco has a rich history. Founded around 540 A.D. by the Greeks, it has a strategic location perfect for surveying the surrounding countryside, according to Ancient Origins. In 1040, a tower was built for viewing potential threats and marauding pirates—still the town’s focal point.

After the introduction of a university in the 13th century, Craco’s population steadily rose over the ensuing years to an average of 1,500 townsfolk who made a living by farming. By the 15th century, four plazas were constructed, followed by the monastery of San Pietro in 1630.

But, by the middle of the 17th century, everything changed with a plague outbreak that killed hundreds.

(Shutterstock/illpaxphotomatic)
Shutterstock/illpaxphotomatic
(Shutterstock/Matteo Della Torre)
Shutterstock/Matteo Della Torre
(Shutterstock/Ivan Moreno sl)
Shutterstock/Ivan Moreno sl

In the early 1800s, gangs of bandits attacked the town, resulting in civil unrest. Around a hundred years later, the crops failed, leading to severe famine, and by 1922, most of the population had fled, according to the report.

If plague, robbers, and famine weren’t enough, owing to the town being constructed on unstable terrain, the unfortunate people of Craco were hit by a series of landslides—the worst of which began to occur in the 1950s when the quality of the soil worsened further, and a sanitation upgrade disturbed the ground.

And yet, the residents of Craco clung to their beautiful town.

(Shutterstock/Massimiliano Marino)
Shutterstock/Massimiliano Marino
(Shutterstock/Veronika Kovalenko)
Shutterstock/Veronika Kovalenko
(Shutterstock/Ragemax)
Shutterstock/Ragemax

In 1963, many of Craco’s remaining inhabitants had to be evacuated due to a series of life-threatening landslides, sounding the final death knell.

A new settlement was built further down the valley, but still, the most stubborn villagers stayed put. In the 1980s, an earthquake shook the town’s foundations, and the final few living there were forced out.

Now, the once lively town is frequented by only stray animals and the occasional tourist—and the odd film crew.

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Anna Mason
Anna Mason
Author
Anna Mason is a writer based in England. She majored in literature and specializes in human interest, travel, lifestyle and content marketing. Anna enjoys storytelling, adventures, the Balearic sunshine and the Yorkshire rain.
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