There are more than 6,000
abandoned villages in Italy. According to conservative estimates, another 15,000
have lost more than 95 percent of their residents - and that number is
only set to increase. What you see here is the capital of them all:
this is Craco, in the country's far south. Yet, the abandonment caused oblivion. Such ghost towns often date back to the
Middle Ages or even ancient Roman times. But they are barely
covered in any history book. So, during our 2021 Italy road trip, we went here,
trying to unveil what Craco was keeping hidden. Join us on a journey into the ruins,
and one thousand years of history. Each of Italy’s ghost towns has its own tragic
story of why it has remained desolate for decades. These are the chronicles of Craco. We have had a busy few days, guys. So far, we have accomplished
the first leg of our trip. But today is no rest day. Actually, we drove the whole night to get
as far south in Italy as we had ever been. Just to see this. This is Craco. The old part of town, to be exact. It was built on the summit of
a steep ridge centuries ago, giving the medieval town the
appearance of being one with the mountain - hence the nickname "Golden Mountain",
as people once used to call their home. But these people are gone, and as for
their houses, only ghostly shells remain. While driving here, we were on a long winding road
in the middle of nowhere with barely any traffic. Now, we are surrounded by a rugged landscape - with
not many signs of vegetation, and no people at all. This is Italy's wasteland. Okay, let's roll out of
bed and get started. There is lots to explore
in a huge place like this. All we see are detached house
ruins that seem out of place. There are massive cracks in the walls - a
first indicator of why this site was abandoned. We look into what is left of the buildings. But they are just empty. By now, after almost half a
century of vacancy, it is all looted. And what is still there is hardly
secured against any further collapse. Everything looks like a stable. Like a huge stable!
Goat shit everywhere... Or what is this?
Horse shit? Dunno. It seems like only animals inhabit this ghost town
today, although this is quite the historic place - unfortunately, however, it
seems beyond any salvation. The name Craco first gets
mentioned around the year 1060, but people have probably
lived here even longer than that. Over the next 500 years, the population increased
from only a few hundred individuals to about 2,500. There is a gate, and that was
obviously put here only in recent years. The area behind it has
been cleared from any rubble, and the buildings seem safer
than the ones we have seen so far. Apparently, this was
set up for public visits. There is a plaza here,
surrounded by villas. No furnishings are left, but the ornate
ceilings are still largely visible today. There were a handful of aristocrats residing in
Craco, but most occupants lived from agriculture - mainly cereals were grown in the area around,
together with olive oil, vegetables, wine, and cotton. Throughout history, Craco has been the victim
of many disasters such as famine and raids. So, it seemed only natural for a large part of
the population to emigrate to the New World. They went to North America at the end
of the 19th and the early 20th century - primarily because of poor
agricultural conditions back home. Craco was occupied for at
least one thousand years. But in the end, it was landslides that
destroyed the houses of the remaining residents and rendered the
whole area uninhabitable. We just arrived at the small
piazza in front of the former church. And what's already a
little bit off is the door. It looks way too new,
so I guess, they put it in when they started to use
this ghost town as a museum. You can also see some new lights
which were installed around here. There's also some old
sign about the church. Looks like it's burned, maybe by
the sun because it gets super hot here. It's like 10 am, but it's already
more than 40°C (104°F). Let's check out this
door a little bit closer. Yeah, it's all open. I guess somebody just
broke the chain to get in. Craco was devastated
by a series of landslides. The first residential house
was evacuated in 1963. Residents woke up after heavy rains just to see their
kitchen or sitting room lying crumbled down the cliff. Over the coming months, more
and more families were affected. Presumably, these mudslides were triggered
by work on the sewers and water supply. For the fleeing inhabitants, a new
settlement was built in the valley. But most people stayed in their
homes on the Golden Mountain - until the 1980s, when an earthquake left almost
every building in a state of dilapidation. Since then, Craco
has been a ghost town. An epic scene was created that
made filmmakers' hearts beat faster. In the past 40 years, Craco has seen Mel
Gibson, Richard Gere, Tom Conti, and many others walking through these ruins to shoot
movies like "The Passion of the Christ", "King David", and scenes for the
James Bond film "Quantum of Solace". Craco once was a religious center, a feudal town with plazas
and a castle, but with a university also a seat of education. Only ruins remain today. Even the so-called public part is
deserted, just like the rest of the place. Its abandonment has made Craco a popular tourist
attraction, only accessible with a guide. And yet, there is no one around. Maybe because a global
pandemic crippled tourism. We are on our way to the
highest point of the town. It is this castle tower. It dates back to the 13th century, making
this the oldest part of Craco still standing. Ironically, this is also
the best-preserved part. That's so sketchy... Damn, that looks so sketchy,
that part of the wall. Hurry, hurry, hurry… Let's get the fuck
away from that thing. Craco may be a ghost town,
but indeed a very lively one. Yet, in times of the Coronavirus,
there are only donkeys, and occasional tourists taking
their vacation snaps from the street. But usually, there are events hosted, and so are
religious festivals in front of this impressive backdrop. In Italy’s abandoned villages, the old
owners have long since disappeared. Their heirs now live elsewhere, and nobody seems
to care about the future of these sites anymore - especially when they
are as rural as Craco. Recovering these places is
all a matter of spending money. But Italy is lacking resources, and bureaucracy
makes it hard for private investors. In an upcoming installment of this series,
we will dive deeper into this topic. We will talk to locals in a semi-abandoned town
that, again, was badly damaged by an earthquake. We even interview the mayor to find out
more about Italy's notorious 1-Euro-houses. Join us again, when we explore another
one of Italy's countless ghost towns! Here are some photos of our
Craco exploration provided by Tobi. If you like urbex photography
and want updates from our trips, make sure to follow @tobi_urbex on
Instagram as well as our social media pages. As always, links can be found in
the video description down below. Our thoughts are with the victims of the
Russian invasion and the Ukrainian refugees. We ask you to become active. Take part in peace demonstrations
and support with donations if you can. Also, think critically and get informed
- but always check your sources. Stand together, guys,
while also staying curious.
