Lazio is the perfect destination for those fascinated by mysterious, gloomy sites. Let us be overwhelmed by the mystery of eight ghost villages.
Stazzano Vecchio
Stazzano Vecchio lies halfway between Palombara Sabina and Moricone, a ghost village in Roman Sabina dating back to 1600. It is a castle-village with a single access between the outermost tower and the Church of Santa Maria. Stazzano Vecchio became a “dead city” 123 years ago, after the earthquake of 1901. Turn 360° from the top of the limestone spur and discover Stazzano Vecchia, a spectacular view!
Antica Monterano
Tuff, natural rock arches, waterfalls, sulphur springs, remains of Etruscan necropolises and even works by Bernini. We are in the ghost town of Ancient Monterano. Perched on a tuff hill, it is part of the Monterano Regional Nature Reserve. The town is of Etruscan foundation and began to depopulate because of the malaria at the end of the 18th century. It was definitively abandoned after the passage of French troops in 1799, which forced the surviving population to move to the nearby village of Canale Monterano. The ghost village includes ruins of medieval houses, the Baronial Palace, the church of San Bonaventura, designed by Bernini, and the remains of an aqueduct with high arches. The charm of these fairy-tale ruins has often been used as a set for famous movies in the past, from “Ben-Hur” (1959) with Charlton Heston to “Il Marchese del Grillo” (1981) with Alberto Sordi.
Galeria Antica
Galeria Antica is a ghost town close to Rome. From a tuff spur overlooking the Arrone river we can see this fortified Etruscan city, declared a Natural Monument in 1999. Among the ruins, the bell tower of the church of Sant’Andrea immediately catches our attention. There are many mysteries about the causes of its abandonment in 1700 and it is not known why, in 1800, the few remaining inhabitants fled in a hurry. They went to live just one kilometre from Galeria Antica, founding the village of Santa Maria di Galeria Nuova. Some say they heard the sound of horse hooves and moaning. In this dark atmosphere the movie “Non ci resta che piangere” was filmed.
Celleno Antica
The red tuff houses and the medieval Orsini Castle are the most mysterious sites in Celleno Antica. The ruins of the former church of San Carlo, the parish church of San Donato and the bell tower with the clock make this place fascinating. Celleno Antica is an Etruscan settlement depopulated by the earthquake of 1855.
Rocchettine
Magnetic, hostile, and subtly sinister are the ghost villages of Sabina. Rocchette and Rocchettine are an excellent example of this, the mysterious twin fortresses in Torri in Sabina from the distant 13th century. We are on one of the sets of “Il Nome della Rosa”, the TV miniseries that in 2019 made us experience dark Middle Ages and admire the ancient Rocca Guidonesca, or Rocchettine. From the shade of the holm oaks below Rocchette we can see the gorges of the Aia stream. The two twin towers were built in 1200 to protect the Tiber valley, which connects Rieti and Rome. However, Rocca Bertalda, or Rocchette, continued to live on the hill next to Rocchettine which, on the contrary, was abandoned in 1600. And no one knows why. The austere charm of this ghost village is given by the grey of the limestone and the church of San Lorenzo.
Borgo di Monte Antuni
And here is the Castrum Antoni, the fortress of Antuni which has stood out in Castel di Tora since 1100 on the top of the mountain of the same name. Surrounded by the turquoise Lake Turano, it is anchored to the mainland with a spit of land. In this panorama in the heart of the Navegna Cervia Nature Reserve, we just cannot imagine Antuni and its neighbours, Castel di Tora and Colle di Tora, reflected in the lake. Yet Lake Turano was created artificially at the end of the 1930s to produce hydroelectric energy, and then the village became a lost city. Many say that the cause was an erroneous bombing in the Second World War, but the village was already depopulated. In the 1930s the dam generated the lake and the Antunesi moved downstream. In fact, in their village they could no longer cultivate or raise animals, their traditional activities. In the 90s the village was restored and the Palazzo del Drago, with a curious labyrinth, can now be visited together with the Eremo of San Salvatore, a cave which preserves frescoes from the 1600s.
Corvaro – fraz. di Borgorose (RI)
In the Cicolano area, among the Montagne della Duchessa, we find the old village of Corvaro. This majestic mound, a funerary monument 50 m wide and almost 4 m high, tells the story of the Equicoli. They are the descendants of the ancient Equi people confined to the mountains of this impervious territory.
Fogliano
A few kilometres from Latina, in the northern part of the Circeo National Park, lies the village of Fogliano, a small fishing village from the 1700s, now uninhabited. In fact, after its golden period with the Romans, it was abandoned until it was rediscovered by the Papal State. The village of Fogliano is in fact closely linked to the family of Pope Boniface VIII, Benedetto Caetani. It was the Caetani family who started the restoring of the village with the construction of the main villa, the English villa, a small school for the children of the inhabitants, and a small modern neo-Gothic church on the ancient Church of S. Andrea. What made it even more special was the intuition of Ada Constance Bootle Wilbraham, wife of Duke Onorato Caetani. In the year 1867 she married Onorato, Duke of Sermoneta, and lived in the Caetani residence on Lake Fogliano, where she created an exotic botanical garden. In memory of her inspiration, the entrance avenue to Villa Fogliano bears the name of Ada Caetani. Unfortunately, over the years many exotic plants housed within the structure died. But we cannot forget the famous palm trees that were the backdrop to the film “Ben Hur”.