Pentedattilo

The name comes from Greek for five fingers, describing the sandstone crag above the village, which is cleft into five points and looks like a hand from the valley. Founded in the seventh century BC by Greeks, the village was progressively abandoned after an earthquake in 1783 and further movement of the unstable rock, with the last inhabitants leaving in the 1960s for a new settlement below. From the 1980s volunteers and associations began restoring parts of it, and some buildings now hold workshops, a hostel and a short film festival held each summer, though most of the village remains ruined.

History

The town was founded in 640 BC as a colony of the Greek city of Chalcis and prospered in Greek and Roman times, then declined under the Byzantines, when the Saracens and others sacked it. In the 12th century the Normans took it and it became part of a baronial fief of the Abenavoli family. The earthquake of 1783 sent much of the population to nearby Melito di Porto Salvo, and the village stood empty from the mid-1960s until the 1980s, when volunteers from across Europe partly restored it (Wikipedia, Pentedattilo).

What's there

• The five-fingered crag - a cleft sandstone rock above the houses.
• The abandoned streets - ruins left after the earthquake and later movement.
• The partial restoration - workshops and a hostel in rebuilt houses.
• The film festival - a short film event held in the village each summer.

When to go

April to June and September to October; summer on the exposed slope is very hot. The festival falls in summer. Winter access can be affected by weather.

Before you go

Most of the village is genuine ruin with restricted access to unstable areas. Facilities are minimal outside events. The access road is narrow.

Nearby

Reggio Calabria lies west; the Aspromonte rises behind.

Key facts