The ancient village was built in Roman times and was destroyed in August 1962 by two earthquake tremors measuring 6 and 7 on the Mercalli scale.
After these tremors, 6500 inhabitants were evacuated. Apice was one of the hardest hit municipalities. The most daring inhabitants resisted the evacuation order until 1980, when the Irpinia earthquake occurred. From that moment on, the municipality became ‘the ghost town’.
To this day, only the historical remains and old abandoned houses can be found in the village. The ancient medieval castle of Hector, dating from the Norman period, has recently been restored.