Castana, Iowa

Castana is five miles northeast of Turin on Iowa Highway 175. The community's
name comes from the Latin word for chestnut. The town in Italy with the same
name once had more than 2,000 residents, but now has fewer than 800. Like
Turin, it is in northwest Italy, so there is probably a connection to the names of
the two Iowa towns.
Castana, Iowa has a lovely setting, but the town faces economic challenges.
One in five families, according to the 2000 Census, has an income below the
federal poverty line. The town's streets are gravel and some are little more than
dirt roads. What’s left of the town’s business district is on 3rd Street, which
amounts to one enterprise – Burke’s Store in a building with a red block front.
Other former store buildings have “no trespassing” signs prominently displayed.