Roghudi or old Rigudi is a ghost village in the province of Reggio Calabria, located on the southern slopes of the Aspromonte Park, in the valley where the Amendolara river flows. Completely uninhabited since 1973, due to heavy floods that made it unusable, Roghudi stands on a rocky spur, in an unsafe position, with the houses positioned on the edge of the precipice. Belonging to a Grecanic area, it dates back to 1500. The new town is 40 kilometers from the old village, also famous for a series of legends that have surrounded it for centuries.
The “Rocca tu Dracu”
The legends of Roghudi have their roots in ancient times, when the town was inhabited by shepherds and farmers. The ghost village is enriched with a hamlet called Ghorio, also abandoned. In this place there is a boulder with a particular shape, called "Rocca tu Dracu", or "Rocca del Drago". According to a legend, it was the head of a dragon which guarded a precious treasure.
Next to this rock, on which two circles similar to two eyes are engraved, there is another in the shape of rumps. Popular belief holds that it was the sects “milk boilers” or caddareddhi, which allowed the dragon to feed. Only a brave fighter, capable of sacrificing a newborn baby, a goat and a black cat, would come into possession of the treasure. No one ever had the courage to challenge the dragon because it was said that anyone who dared to approach the rocks would be overwhelmed by a violent gust of wind and thrown down into the waters of the stream.
The ropes for tying children and the Anarade
Another legend has it that large nails were fixed to the external walls of the ancient houses of Roghudi and ropes were hung from them. With them the children were tied by the ankles to avoid falling from the high cliffs on which the town was built. In fact, there have been numerous cases in which children lost their lives and some claim that even today, at night, one can hear their cries rising from the cliffs. Another story has as its protagonists Anarade, women with clog-shaped feet who lived in the nearby district of Ghalipo.
During the day, they lived hidden among the cliffs, but at night they tried to lure the women of the village towards the river to kill them and mate with the men of the village. To avoid this threat, three still existing bridges were built, one in "Plachi", one in "Pizzipiruni" and one in "Agriddhea". The fascinating legends of Roghudi are a cultural heritage to be preserved because they tell the history and soul of this unique place, where time has stopped.
(Photo: Roghudi Vecchio, Facebook Page)
