First founded in 1050AD by one of the Counts of Ventimiglia, prospering as part of the Republic of Genoa from the 13th century onwards, the development of Bussana Vecchia was halted abruptly by an earthquake on 23rd February 1887. The village was destroyed and abandoned....
The new village of Bussana was resituated at sea level two years later and the old village lay deserted and forgotten up on the top of the hill....until Clizia a potter and painter from Turin came here in 1959. He founded the International Community of Artists together with the poet Giovanni Fronte and a painter Vanni Giuffre. Moving mountains of rubble and restoration of the least damaged buildings began, and soon artists from France, UK, Germany, Holland, Italy, and Austria joined the growing community of international artists - even though there was no water, electricity, and sewage.....
Although threatened evictions and stand-offs against the Italian government followed in the sixties, studios, workshops, and galleries were established amongst the ruins and are still present today - although the community is in constant flux with artists coming and going......
The most poignant ruin is that of the magnificent church built 1404 - 1652 and dedicated to St Egidio - over the years it changed from a modest structure to a Romanic church and finally to a magnificent Baroque church with columns, frescoes, stucco, and six chapels and altars built into the walls. Gerolamo Comanedi, a young artist from Lugano, worked there his whole life creating these amazing friezes, paintings and stuccoes succeeded by his nephew.....Now it is a magnificent ruin inhabited only by a magnificent rooster and a few chickens.
As you can see it is a very photogenic place to visit and I did manage to get there by public transport - two trains to Ventimiglia and San Remo, followed by a bus to new Bussana and then a steep uphill climb of about 40 minutes - Well worth the effort - Enjoy!!
