Chiapporato

Lost among the Apennine ridges that mark the border between Emilia and Tuscany, stands Chiapporato, an ancient hamlet that provides evidence of how mountain life used to be more than a century ago.

The arrangement of numerous buildings scattered in a small space, on the slopes of imposing escarpments, offers an immersion in the past, allowing one to imagine how life might have unfolded in these remote areas back in the day. Old fruit trees choked with wild vegetation, broken windows, ajar doors and traces of the past scattered in every nook and cranny help create an evocative picture of bygone eras. The village was inhabited until 2013 by two people, mother and daughter, the two women who lived by raising rabbits, sheep and chickens were the only ones left from a family of shepherds. But that is precisely Chiapporato's charm: its uninhabited hamlet status, which gives the place an aura of mystery and a timeless atmosphere. The ban on motor vehicles helps preserve the tranquility and unspoiled nature of the village.