10 – Following the soft geometries of the Lucanian badlands
Difficulty: medium / high
Bike type: touring / road racing / gravel / e-bike
Departure: Salnadra
Arrival: Aliano
Total miles: 95 approximately
Road surface: asphalt
Height difference ascent: 1460 m
Height difference descent: 1460 m
Time of year: from March to November, pleasant in spring and autumn
ROUTE
The tour of the land described by Carlo Levi in his “Cristo si è fermato a Eboli” (Christ Stopped at Eboli), which we recommend is taken in stages due to its length and degree of difficulty,
ROUTE 10
Begins in Salandra, a village founded in Norman times, situated on a rock and surrounded by clay ravines, woods and areas of great archaeological interest.
After 20 km the route takes us to Ferrandina. Founded in 1490 by Frederick and Isabella of Aragon, the village is famous for being a Slow Food Presidium of Majatica, a quality of olive tree found only in some areas of the Matera hills from which the famous Black Baked Ferrandina Olive and Extra Virgin Olive Oil are made.
Descending the slope you reach a flat area, where the cultivated fields become orchards, in a succession that leaves more and more room for the “lunar” landscape of the ravines. Eventually, you reach Craco Vecchia, the village that was completely abandoned in the 1960s following a landslide and is now a destination for internationally renowned photographers and directors.
After a few kilometres on the flat and a steep final climb, you reach Aliano. Perched on a clay ridge, Aliano is the town of the Calanchi (badlands) and Carlo Levi’s exile, surrounded by the evocative and lunar landscape that the painter and doctor from Turin described in his novel Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli).
