Apice the ghost city

Apice the ghost city, also known as the Pompei of the ‘900. A time travel among nature, architecture and culture in a little village of Italy’s 60’s.

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Introduction – A little history

Apice was a little village in the province of Benevento in the south west of Italy, an hour drive from Naples. Due to the earthquake on 1962 first and 1980 later, the citizens of the town were forced to abandon their homes. The experts team, sent by the government to evaluate the damages caused by the earthquake, decided that the houses were unstable and must be evacuated as soon as possible, so, the local authorities decided to rebuild the town a few kilometres away, on the opposite hill, and named the town “Nuova Apice”, new Apice.

Today Apice nuova has more than 5000 habitants but the 21st August 1962, 17 people died, 6000 were forced to relocate and just few stayed in the town, the last one was a barber who retired in 2012. After the 1980 earthquake, all the few remaining habitants moved out, and the town was left deserted. Since then the clock for Apice stopped, and the village remained the same until nowadays. Few years ago the council built gates to close all entrances to the old village but tourists can still visit it accompanied by local guides. Our journey starts here…

Visit the village

As mentioned before to enter the old part of the town you have to be accompanied by a guide, mostly to avoid you entering in the houses and also to explain you a little bit of the village history. The local guides are free of charge, if you want and if you enjoyed the visit you can tip them, but it is not mandatory. You can book the guides by calling a phone number on the council door (nearby the car park next to the castle), they are around so it does not take much for them to turn up.

Anyway, there is a way to go inside without the guides but I am not going to tell you how, because it can be dangerous to wonder around, only because some people go inside the houses forgetting that they have been declared unstable and they have been there for 60 years without any maintenance and “survived” 2 earthquakes. A part of that, it is very safe to go around, all people living around the village are super friendly, willing to help you and answer any question you have.

Apice – A walk around

When walking around the town my first impression was that Apice was a beautiful village to visit, cosy, peaceful and surrounded by nature lying on top of a hill. Everything has remained as it was (if you use a bit of imagination). Vegetation is slowly claiming back streets and buildings, in some parts it looks like you are walking inside a forest. Anyway, the surrounding atmosphere is very silent, there is a mix feeling of peace, beauty and sadness. If you spend some time standing still in the middle of the main square or a little alley, you realize that once it was alive and people use to live their lives with their problems, jobs, satisfaction and everything a life in a little Italian town of the 60s had to offer.

The sneaker (biliardo) club was probably the meeting point of younger people, teenager having fun and falling in love for the first time. The butcher’s shop (Macelleria and beccheria, 2 doors next to each other) in the main square with all the tools, hooks and counter to do the job. The grocery store, the glass shop (Vetreria), the clock repair shop and the undertaker, who left two small white coffins almost finished at the door of the shop; the hairdresser with the armchair, broken mirrors and helmets on the floor; the school. Some cars are still parked in the garage or courtyards of the buildings, some crushed by the collapsed ceilings or columns, some “intact”.

While walking around, among those small alleys, you can notice that on some windows curtains are still hanging, moved by the wind, almost like they want to catch your attention to say “Hey! I am the only one left here, once someone was looking after me”. On the balconies still the vases with flowers. Wondering around the rural environments you run into a noble palace, Orlando Cantelmo’s house, university professor and surgeon of the first post-war period. Inside the house the frescoed ceilings in the living room and bedrooms are intact and you can still admire the beautiful decorations that once made that place special.

Having a quick look inside houses and shops it’s like watching snapshots of people’s lives, styles and habits in the 60’s, clothes hanging in the guard robes, TVs, furniture and people belongings left behind during the evacuation, inside the shops all the tools, shelves and instruments of few shops, bottles of wine and liqueurs on the floor, somehow it feels like you are invading their privacy. Any house in here from the richest to the poorest, stores items that enclose memories of the past.

The castle

Castello Dell’Ettore is located about 15km from Benevento in the heart of Apice the old village. On top of the hill, the Ettore Castle dominates the valley, it is an ancient Norman castle recently restored and currently open to visitors. It hosts a Museum of contemporary art, events and cultural meetings, for example it is very famous the Christmas market and moreover you can rent it for a wedding reception. The visit is free but reservations are required.

The castle was mentioned in a document dated 1626, and described as surrounded by “three very strong bulwarks”, but today it is possible to admire only one in its structural integrity, equipped with pantries, characterized by the presence of frescoed rooms and a votive chapel. During its glorious history the Castle has hosted important personalities, such as Frederick II of Swabia, Manfredi of Swabia, and St. Anthony of Padua to whom the inhabitants are very devoted.

How to reach Apice

The Castle is located in the countryside, a remote location accessible only by car, as public transport can take you only until a certain point. By car from Naples, the journey is about 1 hr 5 min (84.4 km) via A16/E842. There is no train station, and the closest airport is Naples Capodichino. Unfortunately you must have a car to visit the Castle or the Apice village, but there is plenty of parking and is free of charge.

Photography

Apice is an extraordinary opportunity for photographers, is quite, easy to walk around, safe and is a multitude of feelings and mood. It’s perfect for landscape, the surrounding area, a green hill with few houses around and, a river down the valley with an ancient roman bridge, during the sunset makes an great panorama, the perfect way to leave the village. It reminds me those pictures from Tuscany with cypress along slim alleys with green hills. It lends itself very well to Architecture photography, several old style buildings and nice decorations inside some houses. It is immersed in the vegetation so, a macro equipment will guarantee you very nice pictures. Mother nature is slowly taking back the city so the area is full of plants, but also items left behind during the evacuation represent nice subjects. The atmosphere and the desolated scenario provides the best environment to black and white photos, especially taking advantage of the history of this beautiful village. You can transmit your feelings through the pictures you take, the area is full of memories and history. During the night, the illuminated castle is the best subject to end your day, some relaxing night photography.

Since you have to go with the car and, the car park is a stone away from the village, you can bring all sort of equipment, leave it in the car and return anytime to pick up anything you need. In general I would recommend you to take at least a flash and a 24-70mm lens. Bear in mind that despite the time of day you visit, in some part of the village the light is never enough to take good pictures without a flash or tripod, so try to use a fast lens. I personally had a 24-70 f2.8 and a 85mm f1.8 plus a flash.

Conclusion

My sister told me about Apice many times, but due to the lack of time I never had the opportunity to go, finally, last October she convinced me to pay a visit. The moment we left I was already planning my next visit. Whether you like or not photography, Apice deserves a visit, for its history, architecture, peaceful atmosphere and for a time travel back to the 60’s.

It is important to respect the place and leave it the way you found it, for next visitor, for people who used to live in there, you have to live it with the respect due to an open-air museum. Apice was abandoned by its habitants by the magic never left this place, when visiting you wish you could have seen it while it was alive. It’s difficult to describe time and history with words but, in Apice this is not necessary, it’s there in front of you.

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