Roghudi Vecchio, is an abandoned village in the Aspromonte mountains around 150 km south of Zambrone. It was one of Italy’s last Greek-speaking communities.
The village was abandoned in the early 1970s due to floods and landslides that endangered the safety of the population. 1650 villagers were evacuated between 1971 and 1973.
The city was founded in the 11th century and the roots of its former inhabitants can be traced back to 500 BC.
A suitable full-day excursion is to start from Zambrone at 8 in the morning, have a morning coffee in Scilla Chianalea, continue to another abandoned village, Pentedattilo and then have lunch in Bova superiore. After this, there is “only” the last very difficult part of the drive left….
Scilla, Chianalea. Scilla is clearly worth its own full-day excursion if you have time for it.
Pentedattilo, another abandoned village, is just a few miles from Bova superiore and is worth an extra stop.
Bova superiore on the mountain top, with an incomparable view over the entire southern part of Calabria, is clearly worth an excursion of its own. If one does not dare to drive the last part of the road to Roghudi Vecchio, it is advisable to stop here and explore the town after lunch and then turn back towards Zambrone.
The brave continue towards Roghudi Vecchio and is advised to have a smaller rental car with new tires and preferably four-wheel drive!
There is a good square to park when (if) you manage to get to the ghost town!
It is possible to walk carefully down through the village to the dried river bed.
The village was abandoned between 1971 and 1973 and there are a lot of stuff left behind when people was evacuated.