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The historical centre of the village of Bajardo has existed since the
first millennium b.C. Since then Bajardo has lived through an eventful
history:
Druid worship place
Before the Romans came to plunder it, the mountain peak was a druid
shrine. Some of the historical stone obelisks have survived over the
millenniums.
Where the shrine was a
fortress was then built, that served as a protection for the surrounding
village. A part of the fortress was substituted by a church in the 17th
century.
Towards the end of the last century, in 1887, about one hundred peasants
came under the church’s vaults to celebrate Ash Wednesday, before
going to work in the fields. But this was not to happen any more. During
the mass the mountains were shaken by a violent earthquake, and more
than one hundred people
died when the roof of the church crumbled.
After the earthquake most people left their houses on the upper part of
the mountain, though these had not been destroyed, and settled lower
down in the valley. Most of
the abandoned houses were then taken over by fowls and rabbits. But not
all of them. A medieval house located west of the church on a
terrace-shaped promontory was bought in the Thirties by a family of
musicians. In the rooms, in which peasants used to live, cello and piano
music now sounded. But this idyll was changed by the Second World War,
and a new birth awaited the historical centre as a place inhabited by
the Muses.
The Second World War and destruction
The nation divided into three groups. The fascists, the partisans, who
fought against the fascists, and the independents, who did not take any
position. The region around Bajardo was one of the forts of partisans,
where extremely violent actions took place. The family of musicians only
thought of their music instruments and their musical life and tried to
ignore the war around them. At
least until 1944, when after a series of threats they were forced to
leave their house in the middle of the night. With them the Muse
departed from Bajardo.
Attempts made in the last twenty years to convince local politics to
prevent the historical assets of Bajardo to be lost for ever were
resignedly abandoned.
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Today many houses are still standing. But in the meantime windows have
broken, the colours and paint of the facades is peeling. Wild vines have
grown over the stone and over the terrace-shaped promontory. But the
walls that have kept the houses together since the 14th century, have
remained standing. Tourism has left the village practically untouched.
The rediscovery of Bajardo
Thanks to the initiative of Bioliguria-EcoArchitettura, of the
government and town council, the village will be restored.
The remnant walls of the church were protected, to hinder further damage.
The upper side of the mountain was gradually inhabited again and most
remnant houses are being restored or reconstructed.
But Bioliguria’s Concept
is not only about reconstruction of historical buildings, it also
intends to revitalise the village for all age groups by means of a
general plan that envisages a residence hotel, an elderly home and a
summer school.
For those who wish to move here, there is plenty of room in Bajardo. The
place is ideal for developing new entrepreneurial ideas, for writing,
for painting, for composing music, for growing plants, for learning
Italian or simply for letting your soul relax and taking a distance from
the never-ending activities that so easily tend to dominate our life. In
the afternoon, if you protect your eyes from the glaring sun that
reverberates from the sea, the valleys and the mountain peaks, you can
see the French Alps, that stand more than 3000 metres high. You can play
cards at Massimo’s café or sit on the terrace with
Gianni Peldi. The important thing is that you can experience in
peaceful stillness a real part of Italy that tourist guides and tourist
texts have forgotten.
Those
who have truly experienced “Bajardo” once does not wish to leave
this fascinating place, and will certainly return.
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