Bussana Vecchia

An earthquake on Ash Wednesday 1887 destroyed much of the village and killed many of its people; the survivors were moved to a new settlement on the coast and the old site was left as a ruin, formally condemned. From the 1950s and 1960s artists began occupying the shells, rebuilding roofs and walls themselves and forming a community with its own informal rules, without legal title. The result is half ruin, half inhabited village: houses with studios and galleries stand beside collapsed ones open to the sky, and the church remains roofless. The legal status of the residents has been contested repeatedly and remains unresolved.

History

Bussana was founded in Roman times under the name Armedina or Armedana, though evidence of permanent settlement appears only in the 7th century, and from the 11th century it was held by the Counts of Ventimiglia, who built its first castle. An earthquake in 1887 emptied the village, and in the early 1960s an international community of artists restored and repopulated it (Wikipedia, Bussana Vecchia).

What to look for

• The roofless church - the main casualty of the 1887 earthquake, still open.
• The rebuilt houses - shells restored by artists without title.
• The studios and galleries - workshops occupying the ruins.
• The unresolved status - a village whose ownership is still disputed.

When to go

April to October; galleries open irregularly and mainly at weekends and in summer. Some parts remain unstable and closed off. Evenings can be lively in season.

Practical notes

Parts of the village are genuine ruins and unsafe to enter. Opening is irregular and depends on individual residents. Parking is on the approach road.

Nearby

Sanremo lies below; Triora is up the Argentina valley.