In the enchanting scenery of the Oltrepò Pavese, a shadow of the past is shrouded in the fog of mystery: Rovaiolo Vecchio. This ancient village, once a flourishing hamlet of Brallo di Pregola, has remained unchanged in time, a sort of silent ghost that carries with it the memories of a past existence.
The echo of Rovaiolo Vecchio‘s bygone days still resounds among the ruins of dark-roofed stone houses, where the cheerful voices of the inhabitants once resounded. But in 1960, an event upset the tranquillity of this little corner of paradise: the Prefecture of Pavia issued a directive that led to the immediate evacuation of the entire village. The imminent danger was represented by the erosion of the land, threatened by the Avegnone torrent, which threatened to cause a catastrophe with the arrival of a landslide from nearby Monte Lesima.
Thus, within hours, the inhabitants of Rovaiolo Vecchio were forced to abandon their homes, taking with them only a few memories and hopes for a better future. With the help of state subsidies, they built a new settlement, Rovaiolo Nuovo, leaving the old village frozen in time, a silent monument to their history.
Today, venturing through the deserted streets of Rovaiolo Vecchio is like taking a trip back in time. The houses, now swallowed up by vegetation, seem to jealously guard the secrets of a bygone era. The empty fences, the fountain with its drinking trough, the barn and the old oven, everything has remained exactly as it was left more than sixty years ago, as if time had stopped at that fatal moment.
Passing through the ruined doors, one can still perceive the atmosphere of times gone by: plates and cutlery rest silently in the cupboards, blankets adorn the beds as if ready to welcome their owners. They are relics of peasant life, mute testimonies of a humanity that has abandoned those places, but continues to live on in memories.
The forced evacuation, although aimed at safeguarding the lives of the inhabitants, has turned Rovaiolo Vecchio into an enigma, a tangible testimony to the fragile relationship between man and nature. Ironically, while the feared danger never materialised in the old village, the new houses built in Rovaiolo Nuovo faced the real threat of a landslide, fortunately without negative consequences.
A few courageous residents decided to remain, mute witnesses of a bygone era. But as the years passed, silence enveloped Rovaiolo Vecchio, letting the wind carry away the whispers of the past, until it became a veritable ghost town, suspended in time, a testimony to a forgotten era.
Thus, Rovaiolo Vecchio rests quietly in the folds of time, a monument to human resilience and the power of nature, a place that continues to arouse wonder and admiration for its wild beauty and mysterious charm.
