Day Trip to Calcata

This past weekend we decided to take a little day trip to Calcata. No, we didn't go to India, but about 42 km (30 mi) north of Rome, between via Cassia and via Flaminia, 2 main roads that lead to Rome (yes, all roads in Italy lead to Rome, but there are only about 5 of them). Calcata is unique in that it seems as if its builders literally chiseled the town from the mountain top. I have a friend who lives there who has been inviting me for the last 2 years. I finally decided to make the trip.



Not only is Calcata an interesting place, but it also has an interesting past. Apart from being initially inhabited by the Etruscans and it was evacuated after the big earthquake of Messina in 1908. Some reports say up to 100,000 people died. After the December 2004 tsunami in SE Asia, I did research on "earthquakes in Italy" on Google and Wikipedia. Just in 1980, a huge earthquake in Eboli (near Naples) killed almost 3000 people. Italy is no stranger to powerful earthquakes throughout the last century. I've witnessed at least 2 since I've been here. One was the aftershock of the Assisi earthquake in 1997 and last summer Rome shook enough to send frightened beach goers to run inland and scream "tsunami tsunami". The medieval hamlet of Calcata shook during the earthquake of 1908 and its inhabitants were moved to the planned community of Calcata Nuova (New Calcata) about 3 km up the hill from Calcata. It wasn't until the 1960s that it was re-inhabited by so-called hippies who came from other places in Italy and around the world. Today the old town counts 60 inhabitants.



There was something very special about Calcata. I've been to many beautiful historic towns in Italy, and most of them are overrun by tourists and all of the garbage that comes with tourism. Stands selling junk, expensive restaurants with ugly menus in bad English out front, huge tour buses blocking the streets, endless fields of out-of-place parking lots, bars selling 2 euro cappuccinos, hotels hotels hotels, etc. These things didn't exist in Calcata. It was too small to accommodate mass tourism. The main square consisted of a few people sitting around talking, quite the contrary from the endless masses of fake portrait dealers, grotesque advertisements, counterfeit Gucci bag sellers, and sandwich stands that line Piazza Navona in Rome.



It was nice to see it empty at lunchtime, no scooters parked on the sidewalk, no cars trying to mow you down. There were a few shops which sold art work and a couple of others that sold hippie garb.

Now, the highlight of the day. We ate lunch at a small restaurant called "I Tre Monti" right at the town's main gate. The porcini mushrooms tasted as if they picked that morning. Calcata's inhabitants seemed content with what they had. There was no need to attract throngs of tourists and ruin the tranquil vibe of the town. It was really a stunning place.

The foundations of most of the houses on the edge of the town, including my friend's, were actually carved out of the grotto.



He had a little balcony which overlooked a beautiful park. The only noise was the sound of the stream. It was truly paradise. He probably paid close to nothing for the place. Always wanting to live in a medieval historic center, he bought it in 1999 when he realized that he would never be able to afford Rome.