Gairo Vecchio: The town that escaped its own fate

When we travel, we usually seek out bustling squares, the hustle and bustle of cafés and picture-postcard beaches. But what if I told you that the most overwhelming emotions can be evoked by a place where there is absolutely no one? Imagine you’re walking along a winding road, the sun beating down on the back of your neck, when suddenly it emerges from round the bend. As we approached that hillside, we simply fell silent.

When you look at these shots, you’ll immediately understand why. These aren’t just ordinary ruins. It’s a ready-made set for a dark, psychological thriller, where mystery hangs thick in the air.

A scar on the mountain’s body Take a broader view. The whole town, clinging to the steep slope, looks from a distance like a grey scar on the mountain’s perfectly green body. This is Gairo Vecchio. In the middle of the last century, following catastrophic mudslides, the town was evacuated. The people left, leaving their entire lives behind. Today, nature dictates the terms here, slowly but relentlessly reclaiming what belongs to it.

We began to make our way down along the cobbled paths, which suddenly come to an abrupt end in the thicket. In the air, you can sense the dense, almost pulsating weight of unfulfilled stories. With every step, the atmosphere grows thicker, and you have the overwhelming impression that the empty window sockets in these ruined houses are silently tracking your every move.

The Anatomy of Decline As you explore these deserted alleyways, you pass multi-storey tenement blocks of which only the plaster-stripped skeletons remain. Cracked bricks, collapsed roofs, and here and there a solitary, rusty balcony suspended over the abyss – a balcony from which no one will ever look down into the valley again. This place was once teeming with life. Close your eyes for a moment and try to hear the click-clack of heels on these stone steps, the laughter of children playing on the terraces, the calls of neighbours.

You open them, and all you see are fig trees and wild vines, aggressively bursting through the walls from within. It’s a fascinating yet spine-chilling phenomenon – to be able to observe at such close quarters just how ruthless time can be when left to its own devices.

A message from the afterlife Yet what strikes you most powerfully and sends a genuine shiver down your spine is a detail at the entrance to this deserted world. There, an old mural greets you. It depicts smiling children and bears a message written in the local dialect:

“Firmadi o istimada gent’amiga in custa gairesa bidda antiga.” (Stop here, dear friends, in this ancient town of Gairo). BENI ‘ENNIUS – Welcome.

It’s like a greeting from the afterlife. Gairo still invites visitors through its gates, even though the town itself has long since passed away.

A stroll through this ghost town is an experience that literally engulfs you. You want to peek inside yet another dilapidated house, you want to walk down yet another overgrown alleyway, searching for traces of those who fled the elements. We left this place behind as we set off on our journey, but it has stayed with us. Besides, as you read these words and look at these photos, I reckon you’re already feeling that peculiar, addictive sense of unease yourself, aren’t you?