Reaching Pentedattilo is not an experience like any other and we understood this immediately. The car – in our case the camper, but be careful to find a parking space – is left at a distance, because the roads become too narrow, and the last stretch is covered on foot while the cliff of Mount Calvario takes shape before your eyes.
The climb is quite steep and the heat is felt, especially given the fact that we visited this magnificent village in the middle of summer, albeit at sunset. From afar the silhouette is unmistakable: a stone hand that seems to emerge from the mountain, with five fingers extended towards the sky. It is here, on the slopes of Aspromonte, that the village climbs and merges with the rock, overlooking the Ionian Sea with a unique view of the blue sea that only the Calabrian waters can offer.
A village suspended between history and abandonment
Walking through the alleys, the feeling is that of being in a place that remains in balance between what has been and what could still be. Pentedattilo, a hamlet of Melito di Porto Salvo in the province of Reggio Calabria, has its roots in the Greek era, going through centuries of Roman, Byzantine and Norman domination. Its history changed forever after the earthquake of 1783, which started a slow decline, aggravated in the following centuries by landslides and instability. The definitive abandonment came in the twentieth century, when the village was declared uninhabitable. Today there remain stone houses, ruined churches and stairs that no longer lead anywhere.
The massacre that marked the fate of the country
Every step among the ruins inevitably leads back to an episode that has become legend here: the Alberti massacre of 1686. The feud between the Alberti and Abenavoli families, born from a denied love, transformed a spring night into a massacre. The Marquis Lorenzo Alberti was killed together with part of his family, while Antonia, at the center of the dispute, was kidnapped and then sent to seclusion. It is a story that mixes news and myth, and which still defines the identity of the village today.
The Hand of the Devil and the legends
In Pentedattilo the rock is not just landscape, but narration. According to tradition, the dying marquis placed his bloody hand on the wall, leaving an eternal mark. Hence the legend of the Devil’s Hand was born, and the belief that at dawn the fingers of the mountain turn red. There are also stories of nocturnal screams, of a curse that would have condemned the town to destruction and of a treasure hidden in the center of the mountain, reachable only by those who managed to accomplish an impossible feat around the five fingers of the cliff.
The Pentegatti, the feline soul of the village
Cat lovers as we are, there is a gem that made the visit even more enjoyable: many, many cats. In fact, more felines live here than humans, a discreet but constant presence that accompanies every step among the ruins. The colony, known as I Pentegatti, is registered and protected and is a virtuous example of coexistence between animals and the territory. The cats move freely among the abandoned houses, finding shelter in the old walls and welcome thanks to the commitment of volunteers and local artists. Not an attraction, but an integral part of the human and symbolic landscape of the village: silent guardians – but always looking for cuddles and purrs – of a place that has chosen slowness.
A ghost town being reborn
Although the village remains sparsely inhabited, in recent years Pentedattilo has started a journey that is leading it to emerge from the oil in which it ended up. During our visit we encountered signs of a slow rebirth, made up of restorations, artisan shops with small souvenirs, cultural initiatives and festivals that enliven the village in the summer months.
The town is no longer as still as it once was: it has become a place of art, cinema and Greek culture, capable of attracting travelers in search of stories and silence. Leaving the village, the feeling is clear: Pentedattilo is not simply a place to visit. Here legend and reality coexist and nature completes what man has left unfinished. A little village that enters your heart, like the long shadow of that stone hand that continues to watch over it.
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