Along Italy’s famously picturesque Amalfi Coast hides Sorrento’s “La Valle dei Mulini,” or “Valley of Mills.” These modern ruins find their beginnings over 35,000 years ago when local eruptions created a valley-like crevice. The crevice originally hosted streams and greenery, making the location ideal for Sorrentine mills. As early as the 13th century, stone flour mills were established in the valley for the purpose of using the stream to efficiently grind many types of wheat. Later, a sawmill and other types of businesses sprung up in this lively fissure. When Sorrento became more industrialized in the early 20th century and business shifted to local pasta mills, the valley was abandoned for more convenient and less humid locations. Almost 100 years later, the high humidity and natural greenery have claimed the bygone commercial center into its natural foliage.

During the summer of 2019, I strolled along Via Fuorimura with my mom and sister on our first day in Sorrento. Sorrento is a beautiful coastal town known for being a more “authentic” vacation spot. Apparently, when the tourists from Europe and the United States fill up central city piazzas in Rome and Florence, the locals escape overcrowding by venturing down south to Sorrento, Ischia, and Capri. My mom had heard this little tidbit from an Italian family friend and was determined to venture “where the tourists don’t go.” Of course, when we got there the town was absolutely swarming with English speakers from all around the globe. This reminds me of another “niche” location that another friend mentioned called “Cinque Terre.” Cinque Terre or “Five Lands” is a collection of 5 small towns on the coastline of Liguria most well known for being the location of the Disney movie “Luca.” After all, nothing says clandestine quite like being the location of a Disney film. Anyway, La Valle dei Mulini really snuck up on me amongst all the tourist attractions and the popular beach destinations. The crevice’s perch was empty despite its position right next to town. My mom and my sister didn’t stop to look, caught up in the details of planning the travel itinerary for the next few days. I stopped for a bit, quickly took the best photo I could in such a short amount of time, and then ran to catch up to them. I remember thinking how weird it was; so many of the hidden locations of Italy have been discovered and everyone is always looking out for ancient Roman ruins but nobody takes a second glance at modern ruins.

A couple of years later I saw a photographer post a picture of the valley ruins with its name and description. The valley was famous after all, enough so that people were weighing in on the reconstruction efforts. Since my visit to Sorrento, a restoration company has completely cleared the scaffolding present at the bottom of my picture. The Sorrentine people have some choice words about the restoration project and they seem to prefer the valley in its instinctual disrepair. Some worry about the authenticity of the mills while others concern themselves with the destruction of the natural greenery and animal habitats. A local subsection of the World Wide Fund for Nature lodged a government complaint against private company ownership of the historic land. Finally, authorities have halted the project while the company and the local government come to an agreement. For an abandoned area that failed to garner the attention of my family and heaps of other tourists, this ancient valley has captivated community awareness. I’m thankful I stopped that summer day to immortalize the striking juxtaposition between an ancient valley filled with modern ruins and the conflict between natural aging and commercial alteration.

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