A stroll through the ghost village of Acerenthia

Some Calabrian "ghost towns" conceal mysteries that even the locals are sometimes unable to explain. One of these is undoubtedly Acerenthia or Cerenzia Vecchia, an abandoned hamlet in the municipality of Cerenzia, in the province of Crotone.

Founded by pre-Roman populations, Acerenthia owes its name to an event that blends history and legend.

Despite being abandoned, the village of Cerenzia Vecchia has never completely severed its ties with the inhabitants of the modern village, nor with visitors, who are drawn to this place by an inexplicable attraction.

Whether it was founded by the Oenotrians or by the mythical Philoctetes, there is no doubt that the site of Acerenthia or Cerenzia Vecchia, now completely abandoned and in ruins, was an important outpost for this area of the Crotone province. This is demonstrated by its location, in a naturally fortified area crossed by the Lese River, once called Acheron, from which the ancient place name Acerenthia derives.

Over time, a series of structural failures and difficulties in supplying drinking water, resulting in outbreaks of malaria, forced the inhabitants of Cerenzia Vecchia to gradually depopulate the area. Around the mid-19th century, this culminated in the definitive abandonment of the site and the transfer to the current Cerenzia. Despite this, the inhabitants' emotional attachment to their ancient town has never been broken. On the contrary, visits to the ruins of Cerenzia Vecchia are a continuous pilgrimage to the origins of collective memory. In particular, during the Ecce Homo Feast, it takes on the tone of a real procession, where the whole town returns to its 'birthplace'.

Like any self-respecting 'ghost town', Acerenthia is also linked to a legend: in 1528, some inhabitants, queuing at the village fountain to fetch water, found themselves face to face with a seven-headed dragon breathing fire. The fleeing villagers turned to the soldier Teodoro d'Amasea, the only one capable of killing the ferocious beast with a sword.  So it was that at dawn on 9 November, the villagers, led by their leader, went to wake the dragon in its cave and had it skewered. Full of gratitude, the inhabitants of Acerenthia elected Saint Theodore as the patron saint of the village and chose 9 November as the day to celebrate the feat.

The Church of San Teodoro d'Amasea is one of the must-see places for anyone visiting Cerenzia Vecchia. It houses a painting depicting the martyred soldier with the seven tongues of the dragon on his head. The small church, which was originally a hermitage, has expanded over time, becoming the main church of the village. Inside, traces of ancient terracotta arches are still visible, while a door next to the high altar connects it to the adjoining convent. Fragments of a Baroque altar in polychrome marble and an 18th-century wooden crucifix are also preserved.

The site of Cerenzia Vecchia is now of considerable archaeological and landscape interest, and it is no coincidence that it is under the supervision of the Superintendency, which has been conducting systematic excavations for years and has established the Akerentia Archaeological Park. Excavations have revealed that Acerenthia was an important Byzantine city: on the plateau where the ancient centre stood, traces of a substantial urban agglomeration are still evident, within which a largely preserved sacred building and the substantial remains of a more elaborate structure identified as the Bishopric stand out.