'We've returned to the stone age': Quake levels Italian town...

Some houses are collapsed outright, pancaked piles of stones and plaster. A pair of skis stick out. Some are cracked open neatly, exposing living rooms frozen in time.

The central Italian mountain village of Castelluccio di Norcia, among the most heavily hit by Sunday's earthquake, is known for the beautiful blossoms of its lentil fields and its historic charm. Now it's a ghost town.

With the roads cut off, almost all of the 300 inhabitants were evacuated by helicopter. They all survived after an earlier quake in August prompted them to move into safer housing like camper vans or containers.

But a small group of 13 hardy souls refuses to leave. Mostly farmers, they want to stay close to their cattle, sheep and horses — their livelihood, without which they would truly have nothing left to come back for.

"Practically we've returned to the stone age," said Augusto Coccia, 65. More + photos...

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