Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Abandoned Places: Craco

The origins of Craco go back to the 6th century when the area was settled by Greeks. It wasn't until the Bishop of Tricarico took possession of the land around 1060 that it was finally named something resembling Craco. Over the next couple of hundred years, a university and a castle were built. It never achieved a great population: there was a plague, there were brigands, and, finally, the agricultural conditions grew too poor to support the population, prompting much of the population to leave around the beginning of the 20th century. By the middle of the 20th century, the town had become geologically unstable, and a series of landslides between 1959 and 1972 severely damaged portions of it. For safety reasons, the remaining population, around 1800 people, was moved to another location in 1963. Since then, the uninhabited town has become a tourist attraction.

As an added "C" bonus, here are some pictures of Christ of the Abyss.


This photo of Keys Diver Snorkel & Scuba is courtesy of TripAdvisor

30 comments:

  1. Andrew, I've never heard of Craco. What an interesting story about it. Wow. Lots happened to the city. I can see why it's still a tourist spot, though. Loved the pictures and there's just something about the last one that pulls on you.

    Sia McKye Over Coffee

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  2. Like SIa, I'd never heard of this place before your post. Looks really cool... and the architecture reminds me a lot of Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, even though, I know, different continent. :P

    Alex Hurst, fantasy author in Japan, participating in Blogging A-Z April Challenge.

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  3. Looks like a great setting for a medieval novel. I love the stone age beauty of this place.

    .....dhole

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  4. Love the last picture. It has something devastating in it...

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  5. That's a rather big town to have to abandon. I'm sure even as a tourist attraction, it's enter at your own risk.

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  6. That's an awesome abandoned place. I'd love to walk around in that one.

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  7. Craco is fabulous looking. I'm learning something new each day.

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  8. I have never heard of Craco, but I love this place just from your post and pics! Is the Christ of Abyss a part of Craco?

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  9. I love the statue of Christ. Amazing!

    It's sad that those 1800 people had to flee their home.

    Elsie
    AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge

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  10. Wow! Those photos are absolutely incredible. We need to travel to some new places!

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  11. Interesting town. I think there is something similar in France, not abandoned though. I don't think I would want to visit, too dangerous.

    What exactly is that last picture? A statue or someone posing or what?

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  12. Wait, I want to know more about Christ of the Abyss! That would've made an awesome story for me today. I SHOULD HAVE READ THIS BLOG FIRST. (goes without saying, right?)

    "This town is way to unsafe to allow anyone decent to live here! But let the Americans wander around it." -- Craco Local Government.

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  13. So now it's the Greek version of a ghost town. And brings meaning to the phrase, "It's a nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there."

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  14. Epic. Places like this set my imagination on fire. I'm loving this series. Keep the amazing abandoned places coming!

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  15. How cool would it be to spend a night in that place? :)

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  16. Andrew, what I love about this challenge of yours is how much I'm learning. I'm a huge fan of old architecture (I work in the architecture industry) and this is the second post in a row that's sending me off to Google something and learn more about it!

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  17. This is a fabulous post! I love the photos especially. I'm going to be visiting you often this month. I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot! Lily-Eva

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  18. An interesting history. It must have been difficult to convince the people to leave.

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  19. What a fascinating them for A-Z. Looking forward to learning about other places time left behind.

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  20. I can't imagine what it would be like to live somewhere that's so steep. Those people must have had really muscular calves, right? lol

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  21. Oh the irony. It was too unstable for people to live there, but it is now a Tourist Attraction. If they go down in a slide... oh well. Hahahaha.

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  22. It looks so huge. I almost can't believe that it's abandoned, although the pieces of it that are falling down are kind of a hint.

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  23. Sia: It did have an interesting history. My version is highly edited.

    Alex H: I'm not sure what the predominant architecture style is, so it's possible there's some overlap.

    Donna: One with an earthquake and 1/3 of the village falling off of the mountain? I like it already.

    Vero: Like, "Don't leave me here"?

    JeffO: Italy! I should have said that in the post.

    Alex C: Oh, it is, since the locals don't really go there as near as I can tell.

    Rusty: I think I'd rather hover around in it.

    Cathrina: Good!

    G_G: Oh, no, Christ of the Abyss is a completely separate thing. It was the first thing I was looking at for C, though.

    Elsie: It is sad, but it would have been worse to have fallen off the mountain.

    Andrea: We do! You're paying, right?

    Jo: It's one of several statues placed underwater around the world.

    Briane: I think there could be some cool stories about the Christ statues.

    Pat: It does. And maybe not a nice place to visit.

    Crystal: I will do my best!

    David: That depends on whether there was a landslide.

    randi: Hey, if I can inspire learning, I'm all for it. I'm glad I've got you looking stuff up.

    Lilica: I look forward to your visits!

    Susan: Yeah, I don't know. Initially, people left all on their own. It might not have taken that much prompting after a few houses rolled down the hill.

    Vicki: Me, too, actually.

    Lexa: Or strong ponies. Or goats. Or something. Probably the calves, though.

    Robin: Yeah, exactly. heh
    And kind of what Briane said.

    Jeanne: It is pretty big. There was some kind of castle/fort, a university of some sort, and a big church (I think).

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  24. Wow, it's so beautiful, and it's such a shame that it was built in an unsteady location!

    ~Rebekah Loper
    Fantastical Ponderings - The A-Zs of Worldbuilding
    The Rabid Rainbow Ferret Society

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  25. nice post. Very interesting story about the city. And the photos are awesome. Especially the last one. Wow! powerful.

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  26. Rebekah: Maybe it wasn't too bad when there weren't so many people up there building on it?

    angelsbark: It is pretty interesting. Thanks for stopping by.

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  27. That place looks very cool. If it's unstable I wouldn't want to stay long but I'd still chance a visit.


    Lee
    A Faraway View
    An A to Z Co-host blog


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  28. Lee: With my luck, it would decide to all fall off the mountain as soon as I stepped in.

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