Basilicata · Matera
Craco
A medieval ghost town on a clay cliff, emptied by landslide and earthquake, now walked only on a guided path.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 54 min from Bari
- Population
- 587
- J12°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M24°
- J30°
- J34°
- A33°
- S28°
- O23°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The cliff rises above the Cavone valley, west of the Ionian plain, and the old village on top was abandoned in stages rather than all at once. Heavy autumn rains in 1963 set off a landslide that tore through the slope below and condemned several hundred buildings; the 1,800 residents were evacuated the following year to a planned settlement three kilometers down on the plain. A 1972 flood worsened the failure in the years that followed, and the earthquake of 1980 finished what the landslide had started.
Nothing has been rebuilt on the hilltop since. The two halves of Craco now sit in a fixed relationship: the ruined village above, empty and fenced into a walking route, and the resettled town below, where the population that once lived on the cliff has continued its life on the plain for six hundred people and counting. The abandonment was not a single event but three separate failures of the same ground, and the empty hilltop is what that slow, repeated collapse left standing.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 1 h 51 min by car.
Lamezia Terme (SUF) is about 3 h 15 min away.
By car from the center of Bari 1 h 54 min, Salerno 2 h 36 min or Lecce 2 h 37 min.
Coming by train into Taranto? Craco is about 1 h 13 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bari airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Craco Vecchia
The abandoned hilltop is accessible only by guided tour with hard hat, walked through marked routes past the ruined buildings.
Torre Normanna
The tower stands at the summit of the marked tour route, the tallest point of the ruins and the first thing visible from the valley below.
Chiesa Madre di San Nicola
Gutted but still upright on the marked tour route, its bare walls and open roof are among the most photographed ruins on the walk.
Craco Peschiera
New village on the plain three kilometers below the cliff, built from 1964 to resettle the displaced population, current population around 600.
Film locations
Cliff and ruins used for The Passion of the Christ (2004), Quantum of Solace (2008) and Saving Grace, marked on the guided-tour route.
Living here
Could you live here?
Craco is at the end of the road.
- A village of 587. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Pisticci, is 32 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Matera, a city of 59,628, is 54 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 587, down 19.1% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Matera, 54 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Policoro, 28 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €420 to €630 per m² to buy, €1.40 to €2.10 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 88% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Bari airport (BRI), 1 h 51 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Potenza, 1 h 29 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Bulgaria, against 9% across Italy. There are 312 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 51% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Matera province ranks 79th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Policoro, 28 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Potenza, 62 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 364 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 129 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.86% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Basilicata spends about €1,890 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €459 a year for water, on the Basilicata average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 4% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
GHOST TOWN
Medieval village evacuated after the 1963 landslide and finally emptied by the 1980 Irpinia earthquake, on the World Monuments Fund watch list since 2010.
FILM LOCATION
Mel Gibson shot The Passion of the Christ here in 2004; the cliff also appears in Quantum of Solace and Saving Grace.
NORMAN TOWER
Eleventh-century watchtower crowning the highest point of the abandoned cliff, the original anchor of the medieval defensive site.
IGP ZONES
The commune lies inside the Canestrato di Moliterno and Peperoni di Senise IGP production zones.
Common questions
- What is Craco known for?
- Craco is a medieval ghost town on a clay cliff, emptied by landslide and earthquake, now walked only on a guided path.
- Where is Craco?
- Craco is a comune in the province of Matera, in Basilicata, at 391 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Craco?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bari (BRI), about 1 h 51 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Bari to Craco?
- About 1 h 54 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Craco?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 34 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Craco?
- Premilcuore, Castelvecchio Subequo and Perito.
- How many people live in Craco?
- 587 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Craco a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Craco is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Pisticci, is 32 min away. The nearest city, Matera, is 54 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Policoro, 28 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 88% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 391 m
- Population: 587
- Surface area: 77.04 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
Towns like Craco
What all six share with Craco: under 1,000 people · hill towns
Premilcuore
Province: Forlì-Cesena
both inland, away from the coast
Castelvecchio Subequo
Province: L'Aquila
both inland, away from the coast
Perito
Province: Salerno
both inland, away from the coast
Ofena
Province: L'Aquila
both inland, away from the coast
Aliano
Province: Matera
both inland, away from the coast
Montresta
Province: Oristano
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