In 1887, an earthquake all but destroyed the Ligurian hillside hamlet of Bussana, just east of Sanremo and not far from the French border.

It was decided it was too dangerous for the people to remain, and so the medieval town was deserted, and in its place a new town was built below the mountains, closer to the Ligurian Sea.

For decades, the town was left to slowly decay, until the 1960s, when a group of young artists discovered the ruins.

They began to renovate and restore the dilapidated buildings, and soon a small international community of artists – led by Sicilian Vanni Giuffrè, who (together with his fellow peers) founded the Community of International Artists – had settled here. 

Its reputation grew, and today it has developed into a small but vibrant artistic community.

Their goal is to live simply from what the land has to offer, and to work artistically within the village. 

As Bussana Vecchio was deserted, for many years there was no proper infrastructure, and there is no easily accessible parking. Instead, you have to drive slowly – very slowly – up the steep hills on narrow roads, and park as close as you can get.

The town in itself is not big, but has developed since it was first repopulated and today, you can find cafés, restaurants, art shops and even small hotels. 

With time, many commodities have been reinstated, and the town now has running water, electricity and even postal services.

In many ways, it outlines not what it is like to live outside of society, but at the same time, not exactly as part of it, but somewhere in-between.

The town was founded already in Roman times. In the 13th century, the town was bought by the Republic of Genoa, but its approximately 250 inhabitants maintained a relative autonomy.

In 1404, the first church was completed, dedicated to Saint Giles, but in the 17th century, it was remoulded in the Baroque style.

During the first half of the 19th century, there was a series of earth quakes, which led the inhabitants to reinforce existing structures with arches and columns in the town’s narrow alleys. 

The earthquake that occurred on Ash Wednesday in 1887 lasted only twenty seconds but killed more than 2,000 people.

The buildings were too damaged to repair and the site was too dangerous to stay in, and so it was abandoned.

Miraculously, the church belfry survived the earthquake and has become a symbol of the town, even though the church itself is too unstable and now can only be viewed from the outside.

For many decades, there were tensions not only with the local police but also within the community, in particular regarding ownership of land.

Today, the organization “The International Artists’ Village” organize the community, selling its handiwork to visitors and organizing artistic events.