As populations of young people have continued to leave their hometowns for bigger cities and other countries in search of better job prospects in the past half century, Italy has become home to an increasing number of ghost towns. These fascinating places are intriguing to visit but some are more appealing than others with the more historic and older examples often being incredibly picturesque and hauntingly beautiful. Those interested in history, architecture, and ghost towns, in particular, will have their pick if they plan a holiday in Italy looking for such gems but one of the most famous examples that tops most lists of the most interesting and lovely ghost towns in Italy has to be Isola Santa. This stunning abandoned town in Tuscany is located in the Apuan Alps and, while it remains largely uninhabited, it has been renovated in recent years in an effort to preserve its great architectural and historical value and its incredible beauty.
Located in the heart of the Apuan Alps, on the road leading to the Tuscan Coastline and the town of Versilia, in the commune of Careggine, in the province of Lucca, you will stumble across a little town that looks like something plucked right from the pages of a storybook and a fairy-tale. Built to be perched on the banks of the Turrite Secca river, this medieval town is made up of picturesque stone buildings with climbing vines along walls, lush greenery and trees all around, and the jewel-toned blue man-made lake next to which it now lies. On sunny days, when all of these colours are at their most heightened, it really does look like some unreal scene painted by a rather romantic artist. If you have found a vacation rental in Lucca, you should definitely drop by!
Located in the heart of the Apuan Alps, on the road leading to the Tuscan Coastline and the town of Versilia, in the commune of Careggine, in the province of Lucca, you will stumble across a little town that looks like something plucked right from the pages of a storybook and a fairy-tale. Built to be perched on the banks of the Turrite Secca river, this medieval town is made up of picturesque stone buildings with climbing vines along walls, lush greenery and trees all around, and the jewel-toned blue man-made lake next to which it now lies. On sunny days, when all of these colours are at their most heightened, it really does look like some unreal scene painted by a rather romantic artist. If you have found a vacation rental in Lucca, you should definitely drop by!
Built originally as a very necessary pit-stop with lodgings for travellers and pilgrims heading through the mountains and along the Foce di Mosceta, a road between Versilia and Garfagnana, Isola Santa then developed into a pretty little village in the most scenic of settings in this lush part of the Apuan Alps. Then, in 1950, after centuries of living in the town, inhabitants were forced to leave their homes due to the construction of a hydroelectric power station nearby, which saw much of the original town sold off to the power company and flooded to create a man-made lake to power the station. From higher ground you can even still see some of the submerged buildings below!
However, despite being forced to leave, they could not completely move on or forget their home and the old inhabitants were drawn back to the village decades later, hoping to restore its considerable ancient beauty. In the 2000s, a renovation project was undertaken to preserve the town, even if it was to remain uninhabited. Now, rather than housing anyone on a permanent basis, local fishermen as well as hikers, photographers, artists, and tourists are the people who mainly spend time in the town and when they do they, too, cannot help but marvel at the beauty of the place. Thank God it was preserved for future generations to admire and visit when it was as it really is a looker that we are lucky to still have today!
If you have found a vacation rental in Lucca and you are planning on exploring the wider province, we highly recommend visiting the utterly magical Isola Bella, which truly lives up to its name! Come and experience a slice of some fairy-tale, pastoral beauty in real life in this incredible place nestled in the middle of the Apuan Alps in Tuscany.
However, despite being forced to leave, they could not completely move on or forget their home and the old inhabitants were drawn back to the village decades later, hoping to restore its considerable ancient beauty. In the 2000s, a renovation project was undertaken to preserve the town, even if it was to remain uninhabited. Now, rather than housing anyone on a permanent basis, local fishermen as well as hikers, photographers, artists, and tourists are the people who mainly spend time in the town and when they do they, too, cannot help but marvel at the beauty of the place. Thank God it was preserved for future generations to admire and visit when it was as it really is a looker that we are lucky to still have today!
If you have found a vacation rental in Lucca and you are planning on exploring the wider province, we highly recommend visiting the utterly magical Isola Bella, which truly lives up to its name! Come and experience a slice of some fairy-tale, pastoral beauty in real life in this incredible place nestled in the middle of the Apuan Alps in Tuscany.
