Balestrino

the Ligurian ghost village

Balestrino the magic of the ghost village in Liguria. the silence is so redundant that it gets into your head: everything is still, even the clock in the church. the old village is no longer there, or rather, it has been abandoned, so much so that it has become invisible. nature has now taken over the buildings, Balestrino becomes even more ghostly, among its narrow alleys, the unpaved roads and the numerous wooden doors, with a bit of imagination, one can imagine the old life of a typical village of the Ligurian interior. impossible not to raise your head and admire the del Carretto castle, still dominant over the entire village. certain rumors, however, say that Balestrino is under renovation and that it will soon be inhabited again and shine in the beautiful Ligurian setting.

History

The ancient village developed in concentric circles at the foot of the Castle and was abandoned following landslides. narrow streets, gravelly corridors meander forming a network at the center of which Balestrino stands as the absolute denominator of a magnificent context permeated by beauty, history and architecture. inhabited in an area considered less risky, the change had an epoch-making and no one forgets that year, "1953".

Curiosity

It is said that inside the Castle lives the spirit of an inhabitant of the BORGO FANTASMA DI BALESTRINO, certain Giuseppe Coscie, known as "il cavigliotto", builder of Caviggie (agricultural fixing tool for pack animals). it seems that this man lived inside the Castle and suffered a traumatic death. his ghost still wanders among the ruins of the abandoned village causing confusion among the visitors and the inhabitants of the town .. annecdotes that follow one another, handed down from the elderly to the children.

To be seen

Balestrino is a hilly village. Still today you can admire the Del Carretto Castle. Perched in a dominant position over the Rio Ponte valley., It represents a beautiful example of medieval fortress. To visit the ancient parish of Sant'Andrea in modern style, which preserves inside two ancient altars in polychrome marble and a pulpit with marble coats of arms of the Del Carretto di Balestrino family. Near the cemetery, there is the Church of San Giorgio with a medieval structure and frescoes from the 1400s.
Ghost Town