Craco

Craco is a medieval hill town in Basilicata that its people had to leave. Its houses cling to a steep crest about 400 metres high above the valley of the Cavone, around a square Norman tower that dominates the skyline; below and around it spread the calanchi, bare grey badlands carved by erosion. Few places in Italy look so much like a stage set, which is exactly why film directors keep coming back.

The site is ancient: tombs of the 8th century BC have been found here, and the name appears in 1060 as Graculum. From the 12th century it was a feudal stronghold, and under Frederick II its tower held Lombard prisoners. The town prospered in later centuries, with four large palazzi and more than two thousand inhabitants at its peak in the 16th century. Its decline came from the ground itself. In 1963 a series of landslides, apparently triggered by new sewer and water works, forced the evacuation of the historic centre; the people resettled in the valley at Craco Peschiera. A flood in 1972 ended hopes of return, and after the Irpinia earthquake of 1980 the old town was abandoned completely.

What remains is a ghost town of great beauty: the Norman tower on its spur of marl, the Chiesa Madre of San Nicola, palazzi with vaulted rooms and wrought-iron balconies, and the collapsed main square that slid away with the landslide. The World Monuments Fund placed it on its watch list in 2010. Directors have used it for biblical and period scenes: Francesco Rosi filmed Christ Stopped at Eboli here, and it appears in The Passion of the Christ and Quantum of Solace.

Craco is not a place to wander freely. Since 2011 the municipality has run guided visits along a secured route through the main street to what is left of the old square, and later extended into the core of the town. From the path the views over the badlands are extraordinary, especially in low evening light.

Getting there

Craco lies about 35 km from Matera by straight line; the nearest large airport is Bari (BRI), about 89 km away.