Bussana Vecchia: Ghost town that came back to life.

Bussana Vecchia

There are ghost towns all across the world. Economic decline, climate change, natural disasters and many other reasons causes them to be abandoned, their populations gone and their structures left behind. Most of the ghost towns have a similar fate to one another: to stand there mostly or fully unattended and uninhabited, indefinitely. However, that is not the case for the town called Bussana Vecchia. After being abandoned for so long, this town bounced back from the dead.

The Town

The past of the town

Bussana Vecchia is located in Liguria, Italy, and is almost at the French border. This town is old, founded since the time of the Romans! Despite its extremely long age, it might have not been a location of stable settlement all the way until the 7th century, and it took all the way till the 10th century for defensive structures to be built here, defending against the frequent amounts of invaders.

A castle was built during the 11th century, its costs provided by the Counts of Ventimiglia who controlled this location at the time.

This town was proceeded to be bought by the Republic of Genoa 2 centuries later, and the castle changed its purpose. From a defensive structure, it became a residential one!

The expansions of the town

In the 15th century, Bussana Vecchia started to have a sharp increase in the amount of structures and population. A church and many, many houses were built with the Roman style. The rocky beaches conveniently provided rounded stones for the structures. A century later, this town would expand even more, and it is from around this time that most of the buildings present today were built. The town thrived for centuries afterwards. However, there was an enormous danger waiting for the inhabitants.

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A dangerous location

The quakes

In the 19th century, many earthquakes struck the town. Three notable earthquakes were recorded in 1831, 1851, and 1854. The populations didn't leave Bussana Vecchia just yet, however. Instead, they reinforced their structures in hoping of withstanding future earthquakes. Columns and Arches were added to existing buildings. However, it was not enough.

A major disaster

In February 1887, a major earthquake struck the town, more powerful than the previous ones. This disastrous quake caused more then 2,000 casualties and destroyed many of the town's structures.

With the disaster that had ravaged the town, a new town was built nearby in hopes of it being a safer location. The new town was called Bussana Nuova, or new Bussana. As expected, old Bussana became abandoned. The populations moved away, leaving the damaged structures of this disaster-struck town behind.

The Repopulation

Artist Arrival

The ghost town stays abandoned almost completely, only housing some immigrants. This was until the early 1960s, when a Sicilian painter named Vanni Giuffrè entered the town along with a group of artists called the Community of International Artists. Their goals were simple: to live a simple, artistic life within the abandoned town.

There was a problem with this simple life they had in mind, though. Being long since abandoned, Bussana Vecchia does not contain sanitation, tap water, or electricity! Most people in modern times would of course find this location completely unbearable to live in. Despite this, the community increased in size, perhaps even reaching 30 people!

The Confrontation

Despite their enthusiasm of travelling to live in an old abandoned town, the artists faced problems from the police. An eviction was ordered and attempted to be enforced. However, the population had the news reporters of many countries on their side, and the police backed off.

An old house in Bussana Vecchia

The Former Ghost Town Thrives

Reclaiming the lands

The artists weren't the only ones interested in settling in Bussana Vecchia. The descendants of the people who used to live here also seeks to reclaim the land that was once owned by their ancestors. They founded an association called Amici di Bussana, and claimed the northern part of the town as theirs.

Despite some more confrontations with the police, the former ghost town and its new inhabitants thrived. More people came to live here, and structures such as the municipal aqueduct were built. This town has became a tourism site as well, with artistic handicrafts being sold to visitors.

Conclusion

An old town from an era long past, ravaged by a disastrous earthquake, had been rebuilt. Despite the hardships, Bussana Vecchia has discarded its ghost town status, and became a populated location once more.

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