Geography and Location
Immersed in the heart of Aspromonte, Roghudi reveals itself to visitors as an ancient treasure chest of stories and mysteries: a village forgotten by time that reveals its enchanted majesty only to those who dare to walk its ancient paths. Here, nature reigns supreme. The rocky landscape with sharp shapes tells the story of time between deep gorges and crystalline streams. In this place suspended between the sky and the riverbed, the visitor is enveloped in an unreal, almost magical atmosphere. Silence is the true guardian of the village, interrupted only by the whisper of the wind that insinuates itself between the stones of the old abandoned houses, witnesses of a past that still echoes in the air.
The old Roghudi rises 527 meters above sea level, nestled on a ridge that drops towards the valley floor, protected by the Amendolea stream on the right and the Furria valley on the left. The strategic and isolated position has made the village a natural outpost in the heart of Aspromonte, inaccessible and fascinating.
Origins and Tragedy
Its origins are lost in the centuries, linked to the history of the Greek communities of Calabria. The name itself, "Righùdi" in Greek dialect, means "rocky", evoking the isolation and wild nature of the place. Another etymology traces the name back to the Greek "rogòdes" or "rhekhodes", meaning "full of crevasses" or "harsh".
The earthquake of 1783 seriously damaged the village. In the 1970s, a series of landslides and floods made it definitively uninhabitable and it was declared unfit for habitation. The inhabitants were transferred to the new settlement of Roghudi Nuovo, built further down the valley.
Today, Roghudi Vecchio is a ghost town, but a visit is a journey through time, among the ruins that preserve the soul of a tenacious community.
A Journey Through Time and Legends
Every corner of Roghudi tells a story, every path leads to a discovery. The village, now uninhabited, preserves its soul intact, made of traditions, myths and secrets buried in the heart of Greek Calabria. Walking among the ruined houses and the ancient mule tracks, you have the sensation of being suspended in a timeless dimension, where the boundary between reality and legend dissolves.
The Legendary Rocks: Rocca del Drago and Caldaie del Latte
Two imposing geological formations emerge with power: the Rocca del Drago, with its disturbing profile and hollows similar to burning eyes, and the Caldaie del Latte, enormous stone cauldrons dug by time.
Legend has it that the Rocca was the home of a ferocious dragon, guardian of a treasure. It demanded regular sacrifices: milk or, in its absence, human lives. Only a wise monk managed to calm it with words, but upon its death the dragon returned to demand victims, pushing the inhabitants to flee the village for good. It is said that the treasure is still hidden and that only a sacrifice can reveal it.
Curiosities and Legends
A peculiar aspect of daily life was the protection of children: to avoid falling from cliffs, they were tied by the ankles to ropes fixed to the walls. A drastic measure, but necessary. According to some stories, in the quietest nights you can still hear the moans of children coming from the cliffs... perhaps just wind, or perhaps memory.
Poets of Roghudi
Roghudi is the birthplace of some of the most famous worker poets of Greek Calabria:
• Angelo Maesano, known as Mastrangelo, author of the hymn “Éla mu condà”, a symbol of Greek-Calabrian culture.
• Francesca Tripodi and Salvatore Siviglia, intense voices of the area's identity poetry.
Reflection
Roghudi is a place of memory and reflection. Every stone has a voice, every ruin a memory. The wind that blows through the gorges of Aspromonte brings with it the voices of those who once inhabited these lands.
It is not just an abandoned village, but a symbol of resilience, of a deep bond between man and nature, history and myth. Roghudi continues to live, suspended between past and legend, ready to reveal its secrets to anyone who has the courage to listen.