17 Abandoned Places That Will Haunt Your Dreams

Photographer Stefano Perego spent 9 years traveling to abandoned sites. Here are a few of his most moving photos.

1. Church ruins in Zeliszòw, Poland

Stefano Perego

This church, originally built in 1796, was deserted at the end of World War II.

2. Communist Party headquarters in Buzludhza, Bulgaria

Stefano Perego

This spaceship-like HQ was closed in 1989, after the fall of Communism.

3. Stairway in a sugar mill in Sermide, Italy

Stefano Perego

This mill operated from 1912 to 1982 before closing down. The building was recently demolished and replaced with a supermarket.

4. Dreamland theme park in Nara, Japan

Stefano Perego

This park was built in 1961, inspired by Disneyland (which opened in 1955). But in 2006, low numbers of visitors forced it to shut its gates. (Spirited Away, anyone?)

5. Innocenti car factory in Milan, Italy

Stefano Perego

Innocenti manufactured cars (including the Mini) in this factory until it was shuttered in 1997.

6. Skeleton of a US Navy plane on the Sólheimasandur beach, Iceland

Stefano Perego

This Douglas Super DC-3 crash landed in 1973. The exact cause of the crash is unconfirmed, but everyone on board did survive.

7. Hallway in a closed Colorno, Italy psychiatric hospital

Stefano Perego

The 1978 Basaglia law closed down this psychiatric hospital, which was converted from a convent in 1873.

8. Chemical plant in Taino, Italy

Stefano Perego

Montedison (now just called "Edison") opened this facility in 1914, and it stayed open for around 60 years.

9. Chiesa della S.S. Immacolata di Merate (also known as Oratorio di San Luigi) near Merate, Italy

Stefano Perego

Also used as a theatre, this old church was built in the early 1900s and only used for 60 years.

10. Les Forges de Clabecq in Clabecq, Belgium

Stefano Perego

This steelworks was shuttered in the early 1990s.

11. Mombello Asylum in Limbiate, Italy

Stefano Perego

This hospital was also shuttered by the 1978 Basaglia law.

12. Hasard Cheratte coal mine in Visé, Belgium

Stefano Perego

Closed in 1977 after 70 years of operation.

13. Chemical fiber factory in Varedo, Italy

Stefano Perego

The last plant in this sprawling complex closed in 2003.

14. Staircase in Villa Branca in Melide, Switzerland

Stefano Perego

This mansion, which was built in 1912 and was abandoned in the early 1980s, has since been demolished.

15. Aluminum factory in Marghera, Italy

Stefano Perego

This emptied production plant once boasted over 100 furnaces.

16. Chateau de Noisy (also known as Chateau Miranda) in Namur, Belgium

Stefano Perego

This decaying castle was built in 1866, then used as a summer camp starting in 1950. By 1991, it was too expensive to maintain. Read more about it's possible demolition here.

17. Linificio Canapificio Nazionale factory in Cassano d’Adda, Italy

Stefano Perego

Linificio Canapificio Nazionale still manufactures fabrics, but closed this particular location in the 1990s.

Stefano Perego is an Italian photographer who travels the world searching for abandoned buildings. You can follow him on Facebook here and on Flickr here.