Ghost town

Faraone

In Italy there are many charming hilltop towns bustling with life, but there are also a few that are abandoned, many times for newer suburban sprawl. One such town is Faraone which is up in the hills just south of Ascoli Piceno in Abruzzo. This is the hometown area of our landlord Guerino and he still has a plot of land and a small house in a nearby borgo.

This town was abandoned around the time of World War II when the government built Faraone Nuovo in a nearby field with typical fascist style buildings. The old town with its fortified walls and stone gate are hidden by trees but are a jewel for those who know where to look. We would not have found it if Guerino’s brother Angelo had not taken us there.

The only structure that is still complete is the church in what would have been the main square. Most of the other buildings are without roofs and vandals have caused damage to many buildings. Angelo showed us places where people would remove structural parts from these old buildings to incorporate into their new concrete houses. According to Angelo this abandoned town was used for some movie sets in the 1950’s, now it would only be useful as a derelict city.

There are many interesting architectural aspects of this town and it shows how quickly an area can deteriorate once it is abandoned. I am sure other regions of Italy have similar locations; you just need to know where to look.