In 1963, a severe landslide triggered by infrastructure and water network excavations forced the residents of Craco to evacuate, a departure made permanent by the devastating 1980 Irpinia earthquake. Today, this abandoned settlement—perched on a steep 400-metre-high summit in the province of Matera—is one of Italy's most recognized ghost towns. Added to the World Monuments Fund watch list in 2010, the town overlooks the Cavone River valley and is surrounded by calanchi, barren badland mounds formed by intensive clay erosion. Human presence here dates back to tombs from the 8th century BC, followed by ancient Greeks moving inland from Metaponto around 540 BC, and Italo-Byzantine monks in the 10th century. The earliest written record of the settlement dates to 1060, when Arnaldo, Archbishop of Tricarico, referred to the area as Graculum, Latin for "little plowed field".
What to see
The urban layout expands from a square Norman tower built between 1154 and 1168 under the first feudal lord, Eberto. This defensive structure, which held Lombard prisoners in 1239 under the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, anchors the highest part of the town. By 1815, the settlement was officially divided into two main districts: Torrevecchia near the tower, and the Quarter della Chiesa Madre, centered around the Church of San Nicola. The domestic architecture is defined by four large 15th-century noble residences. Palazzo Maronna stands near the tower, featuring a monumental brick entrance and a large terraced balcony. Palazzo Grossi, close to the main church, displays an architraved portal without frames, wrought-iron balconies, and upper floors topped with sail vaults bearing floral and landscape medallions. The layout is completed by Palazzo Simonetti and Palazzo Carbone, a late-15th-century building expanded in the 1700s. Palazzo Carbone was the site of a bloody conflict in 1799, when the Holy Faith army repressed a republican revolt led by local student Innocenzo De Cesare. Throughout the 19th century, these same streets suffered raids by armed bands, including the 1861 attacks by brigands Carmine Crocco and José Borjes, and the exploits of local outlaw Giuseppe Padovano, a former Bourbon soldier nicknamed "Cappucino" because he had studied at the town's monastery.
Visiting
Following the installation of seismic sensors that indicate the site is currently geologically stable, the municipal administration established a secured guided walking route in the spring of 2011. Walking through the empty streets allows visitors to trace the footsteps of numerous international filmmakers. The town's striking desolation has served as a filming location for Alberto Lattuada's La lupa (1953), Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979), Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004), and Marc Forster's James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008).
Our editors' tip
Before ascending to the historic centre, take time to view the settlement from the Cavone River valley. Observing the visual contrast between the vegetation-less, heavily eroded calanchi and the ruined architecture merging with the cliff provides the clearest understanding of both the town's historical defensive strength and its geological fragility.