Calcata

Calcata stands on a tufa crag above the Treja gorge, and in the 1930s the government declared the rock unstable, condemned the village and eventually built a new settlement nearby into which residents moved. The old village emptied. From the 1960s artists, hippies and craftspeople moved into the abandoned houses for almost nothing, and a community of a hundred or so rebuilt it; the condemnation was later revoked. Until 1983 the church claimed to hold the Holy Foreskin of Christ, a relic that drew pilgrims for centuries until it vanished, with the priest reporting a theft; the affair has never been explained.

The main sights

• The tufa crag - a village standing on a rock above the Treja gorge.
• The artist community - studios and workshops in reoccupied houses.
• The abandoned-then-saved streets - a village emptied by decree and refilled.
• The relic story - the Holy Foreskin that disappeared in 1983.

When to go

April to October; the village is tiny and busiest on weekends when Roman day trippers arrive. Many workshops open only at weekends. Winter is quiet and damp.

Good to know

It is very small, walked in half an hour, with steep steps and no vehicle access. Shops and studios keep irregular hours. Parking is outside and limited.

Nearby

The Treja valley park surrounds it; Rome lies south.

Key facts