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San Pietro – Italy’s Ghost Village From World War Two

During our recent trip to Italy, our friend took us out for the day, and when we asked him where we were going, his reply was, “I’m taking you to Italy’s Kayaköy. San Pietro.”

If you know Southwest Turkey well, looking at the following series of photos, you would be forgiven for thinking you were looking at shots of the ruins of Kayaköy near Fethiye.

Ruined stone buildings of San Pietro, Lazio, Italy. There are trees growing through the old structures.
The ruins of San Pietro

The Abandoned Village Of San Pietro, Italy

We’d done our research before heading off to Italy and knew about the horrific Second World War battles that took place around the area where our friend’s family is from, near Cassino .

What we weren’t prepared for, however, was the evidence and the memories of those battles that completely surround this area.

Stone steps lead up through San Pietro village. Grassy areas suggest the steps aren't used very much.
The village now lies abandoned

A Once-thriving Village

Like Kayaköy, San Pietro was once a thriving village with a modest population.

The village is built from local stone and locals made their living by making goods from the strong, local grasses.

Sadly, the original site of San Pietro now lies abandoned because of decisions made by others that were beyond the control of the villagers.

Liri Valley from Italy's San Pietro. The landscape is very green and lush.
Looking down over the Liri Valley

This is the view of the entrance to the Liri Valley taken from the village. During the Second World War, Allied troops had the formidable task of making their way northwards, through this valley and towards Rome while German troops occupied the higher ground.

Death Valley

As they made repeated attempts to advance towards San Pietro, suffering many casualties, the Americans soon renamed it Death Valley.

An arched doorway leads into an abandoned home, A stairway is visible at the rear of the building.
A peek inside one of the San Pietro dwellings

While the locals of the village were hoping to be liberated by the Allied troops, the occupying German troops conscripted able-bodied men to help them set up defences.

Women, children and older people were told they were being evacuated. And, just like the people of Kayaköy, the villagers hoped they would be able to return at a later date.

Caves are carved out of rocks to the left of the image.
Some villagers fled to this network of caves

Some villagers chose to flee close by and hid in this network of caves in the woodlands.

The rock is soft and they were able to carve shelves, sleeping areas and fireplaces.

The inside of one of the caves features tunnels.
Inside the caves and tunnels, close to San Pietro

They were also able to dig holes into the floor so the families could hide the men from the German soldiers.

As the Allied troops advanced, fighting was fierce. Many of the villagers hiding in the caves were killed by shells landing near the entrances.

A ruined stone church has trees growing into it. The sky is blue behind.
Many of the buildings were destroyed by shelling

The whole village of San Pietro was destroyed by shelling and grenades.

Stone archways of a San Pietro church.
The ruins are a sad reminder of the battles

It soon became obvious that the people of San Pietro would not be able to return to their ruined village. The modern day village now lies further down the hillside.

A carved stone serves as a dedication to Texan soldiers.
A plaque dedicated to soldiers at the entrance

Until 2010, these ruins sat abandoned – but now there is a museum and visitor centre with visitors coming along to learn about the history and the fate of San Pietro.

It would be nice to see something similar at Kayaköy.

The areas of Lazio and Campania are full of reminders of the horrors of the battles that took place here during the Second World War. During our time in the area, we also visited the war graves of Polish troops and those of the Commonwealth troops at Cassino War Cemetery.

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Turkey's For Life

Saturday 21st of July 2012

@ Joy: Very similar aren't they? Looking forward to seeing your photos of Kayaköy and thanks for the link, too, of course. We'll give your post a mention on the Facebook page. :)

Joy

Saturday 21st of July 2012

Somehow I missed this post of yours awhile back, but it's eerie how close this Italian village looks like Kayaköy in Turkey. I'm finally posting my photos of Kayaköy from our trip to Fethiye last year and am including a link to your blog since you've written several posts about it. Cheers!

Turkey's For Life

Wednesday 16th of May 2012

@ mbs01: No probs. I studied WW11 history all through school and university and never once did any of the textbooks mention Cassino. Conveniently omitted I suspect!

The guide who took us round the village was from San Pietro and her grandparents used to live in the old village. She said she's really interested as she's got older and now that the visitor centre is open. She never really spoke to her grandparents about it and wishes she had, now. She doesn't even know which house they lived in. A shame.

mbs01

Wednesday 16th of May 2012

Thanks for the recommendation, I will definitely get hold of a copy and read it. Funny thing, as I've got older I am more interested in what went on in WW2 and in particular the part my dad played in it. As a 'youngster', fortunately, I did listen to the stories he told and the experiences he had.There is an episode from the series The World at War, which is almost totally devoted to the battle for Monte Cassino, its well worth a look at. Thanks again for the recommendation.

Turkey's For Life

Wednesday 16th of May 2012

@ Anjuli: A very sobering story. We did research before we went so we could understand the history behind the area.

@ MBS01: Have you read 'Cassino' by Matthew Parker? A fantastic book. That was our research before going. We went up to the monastery and the Polish cemetery too. A really moving place. Sadly, there are a lot of new roads being built around Cassino at the moment and roadsigns are non-existent so we couldn't find the Commonwealth cemetery.

I've got LOADS of photos - I think I'll probably put them on Flickr soon. Will let you know when I do.