A Remote Mountain Village with an Artistic Flair
In 2021 we visited this breathtaking little village. Local information about it described it as a traditional shepherds village of the Garfagnana. We weren’t sure what to expect but were completely taken by surprise at what we found.
On the first visit, it was a rather hot day. We got to within a mile of the village, where there appeared to be a road closed warning, and what we could see of it, the road looked rather precarious. There was a car park close by, so we parked there and proceeded to walk up the winding road, past some magnificent ancient trees. As it turned out, the road was perfectly acceptable to travel along by car with care, so we complimented ourselves on the workout we had given ourselves!
By the entrance to the village was another official car park with a marble statue, and throughout the village we found further statues, depicting various aspects of rural life in Campocatino, and local folklore.
There was also one to David Bowie, who apparently visited during a film shoot.
The main paved street led past a ‘refuge’, these are buildings dotted around the mountains, where it is possible to rest, eat and sometimes sleep in times of personal or local emergency, such as getting lost, or caught out by the weather. This refuge had a cafe/ restaurant, bar, WC, local tourist information and items to purchase.
As we continued into the village, we came upon individual properties in various states of renovation, many of which had surprising artistic flair attached to their renovations. It appeared that the majority were Italian summer residences, with our personal conclusions that each purchase and renovation would be closely monitored and costly.
In the centre of the village was a large grassed field, which in former times had been used to corale the sheep in winter. It had apparently recently had a visit from wild boar, and we were pleased to see that we were not the only ones!
On the far side of the field was a small renovated church, then on to further houses and unusual spectacles. Such as an observatory.
A footpath led into the mountains, but it was rather hot to follow on this occasion as we were unprepared.
On our way back to the car, we saw a wild boar crossing the road, and Frank decided to take chase, he luckily returned unscathed after his run out!
We returned to Campocatino several weeks later, when the weather was cooler with the intention of following the footpath into the mountains.
As we walked into the village on the main path, we were amazed to see a wolf ahead of us standing staring at us (and at our German Shepherd Dog, Frank). It looked fairly young, silvery grey, lanky and fluffy. We couldn’t really believe what we were seeing, and presumed it was someone’s pet, but no-one appeared to claim it, and before I had a chance to get my camera, it ran off.
Unfortunately we were thwarted again on our intention to walk into the mountains by the weather, as torrential rain and wind set in, so we had to turn back.
We went into the refuge to recover and for a hot chocolate. We mentioned the wolf, but were told it couldn’t possibly be a wild wolf, there were none there!
Angela 2023