I like ruins | Xavier Llarch Font

‘The most enigmatic aspect of the time of ruination is the manner in which it points towards the future rather that the past, or rather uses the ruined resources of the past to imagine, or reimagine, the future.’

Brian Dillon, A short history of Decay, 2011.

Just 10 minutes walk from Villa Lena there is Toiano Nuovo ,‘New Toiano’, an apparent abandoned village on the top of a sand hill, accessed by a medieval bridge. Toiano started its decay back in the 1960s when the majority of its inhabitants moved to nearby towns in search of work and a better life. Since then, its population has gradually decreased up to today with just two people currently living in Toiano, Rosita and her husband.

The Tuscan countryside have many abandoned and semi-abandoned villages like Toiano. By now most of these villages have been partially privatised and transformed into holiday resorts, like the nearby village of Castelfalfi and Tonda. In contrast, Toiano has been left in a state of decay. The hill in which Toiano is located is rapidly eroding and, in recent years, many of the houses have collapsed due to the lack of maintenance. This, together with the fact that Toiano still doesn’t have running water, have turned away many regeneration schemes and potential investors.

This project is an investigation of Toiano’s past and present to build a picture of what Toiano is now so we can predict what it could become in the future.