We discovered this semi derelict village on our walk down from the alpine village of Alpe Piane, a walk lasting 7 hours! Traces of once thriving hamlets are found throughout the valley with crumbling rusticos and you can picture these communities in their heyday. They would have been close knit communities, dependant on natural resources to survive and I can imagine life, although simple would have involved much hardship in toiling the land. I would think that generations of families would have lived under one roof with the younger generation having to take on the mantle and responsibility as the elders became less able. All that is left now are these crumbling ruins that we often see whilst walking. However, Massera, seems caught in time; there is evidence of a once industrious community with an old restaurant sign, a school perhaps and of course a chapel but the town is shrouded in tall empty buildings with Vendesi signs. There is still evidence that it is partially inhabited though with a set of curtains at a remote window or boots placed outside a door but who can possibly live here! There is no access by road and on foot, it is a gruelling path of rock. I imagine it is some stoical old Italian who has refused to budge from all he or she has ever known.
