21 – The Foreigners’ Road – from Matera to Potenza
Difficulty: medium / high
Bike type: road, gravel, e-bike
Departure: Melfi – Train Station
Arrival: Melfi – Train Station
Total miles: 112km
Road surface: asphalt and some gravel
Height difference ascent: 1850 m
Height difference descent: 1440 m
Time of year: all year round, best in spring / autumn
Variant:
total distance km 34.8
ascent 860
descent 810
terrain: asphalt
ROUTE
From Matera to Potenza you ride on a path that overlaps the Strada degli Stranieri (“the Route of the Foreigners”) for long stretches, a strategic sheep-track that for millennia had enabled foreigners, the Greeks, to travel from the Ionian to the Tyrrhenian Sea, from the Greek city of Metapontum to that of Paestum.
ROUTE 21
The route, which we suggest to take in 2 stages, starts from the Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Matera, one of the oldest cities in the world and European Capital of Culture 2019. The city is world famous for its Sassi, a World Heritage site since 1993 along with the Park of the Rupestrian Churches.
Leaving the northern outskirts of the city, you approach and skirt Lake San Giuliano until reaching the centre of Grassano, the birthplace of Master Francesco Artese, an internationally renowned nativity scene artist. Continuing on the SS7 state road, after a long climb, you arrive in Tricarico, a town known for its Carnival, recognized as a Historical Carnival of Italy by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism (MIBACT). Climb further up to the Cupolicchio pass
Variation:
Once at the Cupolicchio pass, on the SS7 road, exit to the right to reach Albano di Lucania and then Campomaggiore. Once in the centre of this picturesque village, we recommend a detour to Campomaggiore Vecchio, location of the La Città dell’Utopia (“The City of Utopia”) summer event. The last stop on this extended tour of the villages of the Piccole Dolomiti Lucane (Little Lucanian Dolomites) is Pietrapertosa, known for its Volo dell’Angelo (Angel Flight).
The next stop on the tour is the medieval village of Vaglio di Basilicata, with its archaeological areas, that of Serra, whose plateau was occupied by the Peuketiantes in the second half of the 8th century BC, and that of Rossano, site of the sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Mefitis.
A few more kilometres and you reach Potenza, the highest regional capital in Italy. Elegant and welcoming, the city revolves around its thousand-year-old historical centre, made up of stately palaces and ancient gateways, medieval towers and a splendid central square dominated by the Teatro Stabile, built in 1857 in the image of the San Carlo theatre in Naples.