Understand
Originally a sacred ritual site used by the Faliscans, who came before the Romans, and claimed until recently to be the location of the foreskin of Jesus, this is, perhaps, the most unusual village in Italy. In the 1930s, the government condemned it for fear that the 50m high cliffs it sits on were crumbling and the whole village was in danger of collapsing. Most of Calcataâs inhabitants moved to the nearby newly built town, Calcata Nuova New Calcata, leaving the old village more or less deserted. But the old town survived and in the late 1960s and early 1970s, artists and âhippiesâ began moving in. They occupied the abandoned houses before eventually buying them from the original owners. They patched up narrow alleys and converted caves in the rocks into homes. They opened art galleries, inconspicuous shops, restaurants, cafes, and a small B&B and Calcata became a very laid-back tourist site. Finally, they convinced the Government that its earlier assessment was wrong and that Calcata was not going to collapse.
