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Tocco CaudioTocco Caudio is the name of a town and comune in the Province of Benevento, Campania Region, Italy. Many towns in this mountainous region of southern Italy were built on promontory ridges in ancient times. This arrangement made the towns easily defensible, while having ready access to ridge-top roads along which one would not need to cross any rivers. The problem today is that due to the geography, and the layout of medieval streets, they are mostly inaccessible to automobiles. Many houses and shops in the old town areas are now vacant. The town of Guardia Sanframondi is a good example of this general phenomenon. Tocco Caudio is an extreme example. Tocco Caudio was settled on a small isolated ridge. After going up a short, steep hill, one could only drive a car along part of one street. Older houses started becoming vacant, and newer houses had already been built around the old town when, in the 1980s, an earthquake damaged many of the old buildings. The citizens of Tocco Caudio decided to completely abandon the old town, and resettle around the ridge. Anything of value was salvaged, and today it is a ghost town, occupied by the occasional goat. Off the tourist track, Tocco Caudio does not market itself. There is a locked gate along the hill-road leading up to the ghost town. However, the gate is easily climbed by persons of average mobility. The highlight of the old town is the church at the top of the ridge, the modern roof of which has been removed. The brick bell tower is in fairly good condition, but the stairway is quite dark for a few meters.
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