The old village, below the castle, is empty: in 1953 it was abandoned because the hill was moving, and it has been a ghost town ever since, while life shifted further down.
With the marquises it had ended badly before that too. The people of Balestrino burned the first castle, and in 1561 a revolt killed the Del Carretto marquis and his wife; his son answered with new laws and a court fitted out with instruments of torture. The castle you see today was built by Pirro II between 1515 and 1559. The population is 597.
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📅 Every year, on 30 November
Balestrino celebrates Saint Andrew on 30 November; the old village, rebuilt further downhill in the 1960s due to unstable ground, was then abandoned and today, in an advanced state of ruin, has taken on the charm of a true ghost town.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Balestrino, but an easy day trip away.
