Tocco Vecchio
Tocco Caudio (BN)
Hidden gemVillages
The story
Abandoned after the 1980 earthquake, the old borgo of Tocco Caudio preserves ancient alleys and silent ruins clinging to the hillside, while life has migrated a little further down the valley.
The story
Tocco vecchio is the original old centre of Tocco Caudio, on the Taburno. Born in the Lombard age (attested from 930, a 'castrum' in 950), it was the seat of a gastaldate and resisted eight days the siege of Roger II in 1138. A long chain of earthquakes — from 1293 to 1456 up to 1980 — progressively marked its abandonment: after the 1980 quake the population moved definitively to the new settlement of Friuni, and the old centre is today uninhabited.
What to see
The old centre keeps the layout of the medieval village of the Taburno, with its long Lombard and Norman history. It is a testimony of the abandonment that has marked many villages of the Apennines after 1980: a place of memory more than a destination of visit, to be caught in its profile, not among its ruins.
How to get there
- Car needed
Public transport. Il trasporto pubblico in quest'area interna è limitato: i collegamenti in autobus sono radi e non sempre giornalieri. In pratica il luogo è difficilmente raggiungibile senza un mezzo proprio; per eventuali autolinee e per la stazione ferroviaria utile più vicina, verifica su Unico Campania e sui canali ufficiali degli operatori regionali (AIR Campania). · fonte: Fallback onesto — area interna, routing transit non disponibile
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
It is not a destination to explore: the buildings are abandoned and may be unstable. The old centre is caught from afar, from the new town of Friuni, where the community lives today; do not venture among the ruins.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tocco vecchio?
The original old centre of Tocco Caudio, definitively abandoned after the 1980 earthquake, when the population moved to the new settlement of Friuni.
Can you visit Tocco vecchio?
It is an abandoned and decaying settlement: it should be observed with caution and without venturing among the buildings, which may be unstable.
Why was Tocco vecchio abandoned?
For a long series of earthquakes, from the Middle Ages up to the 1980 quake, which made the old centre unsafe.
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