Around Potenza

Lying on the top of a mountain, it looks like a nativity scene to those who meet it for the first time. Ancient huts leaning against each other huddle around the baronial castle, leaving room for narrow streets that wind their way through the architectural beauties of the place, guiding the visitor to the churches of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, San Rocco and Santa Maria del Carmine; moving away from the inhabited centre they lead to the area where archaeological excavations have brought to light a village from the X-VII century BC, in Serra del Carpine.
The Cancellara sausage is well-known and tasty, an ingredient of imaginative recipes and protagonist of a festival in September.

Immersed in the woods of Turkey oaks, beeches and firs in the heart of the Marmo Melandro, Baragiano is a real treasure trove of archaeological finds collected mostly in the well-known Basileus Archaeological Park where we can visit the tomb of the king of the Peuketiantes, buried with weapons, and many other finds dating back to the period between the sixth and fourth centuries BC. The park, in addition to a specific route, features an Archeolab, an archaeological interpretation centre with three multimedia rooms. The small streets of the village wind among ancient buildings, noble palaces and small churches, skirting the remains of the so-called “castello”, a majestic building with a rectangular plan made with boulders deriving from the remains of the surrounding walls.

The place has pre-Norman origins and over the years has been the subject of numerous dominations, the traces of which today make this village a treasure chest of evocative works, made even more fascinating by the green and bucolic setting that surrounds them. The small centre boasts portals dating back to the ‘600-700, a splendid sixteenth century Mother Church dedicated to Madonna delle Grazie, rich in frescoes, and the Aragonese castle, which stands out in all its architectural beauty among the colourful houses of the village.

A small village enlivened by architectures from different periods, unmistakable dialects and flavours and made unique by the traces left by illustrious personalities such as the multifaceted Emanuele Gianturco, a well-known jurist and politician to whom a bronze monument located in the homonymous town square is dedicated, and the famous Giuseppe Nicola Summa, better known as Ninco Nanco, one of the protagonists of the phenomenon of post-unification brigandage, trusted lieutenant of Carmine Crocco. The buildings from the 18th century are quite enchanting, Palomba and Doria, and the Labella from the ‘800, to which we should add another strongly evocative element from the Middle Ages, the gate of the village “Arco della Piazza”.
Of particular historical architectural and religious interest are: the Church of the Madonna del Carmine, in the upper and ancient part of the village, with a structure dating back to the medieval period and restored several times, and the temple dedicated to San Vito, within whose walls we can admire artistic treasures such as paintings attributed to the Bresciano and the Lucanian Gian Lorenzo Cardone, along with a wooden statue portraying the Saint.
A few kilometres from the centre, in the small and pretty hamlet of Lagopesole, rises the evocative castle of Frederick the II. A royal hunting residence, it was used as a refuge by brigands and today houses the Lucanian emigration museum and halls set up in memory of Frederick’s ancient splendors.

On a spur in the centre of the village stand the ruins of the Girasole castle, from the 10th century. Built by the Normans, it underwent several changes over time. Around the fortress there are small houses with bright colours and chimneys with a particular shape, interrupted in their sequence only by ancient noble palaces such as Laspro, Lenzi and Cecere, elements that put together create a fairy tale atmosphere, made even more fascinating by the timeless beauty of the Convent of Sant’Antonio and the small churches dedicated to Santa Maria di Costantinopoli and Santa Maria Assunta.

Of ancient origin, the village of Anzi rises on Mount Santa Maria. Here is kept the fourth largest “Poliscenic Nativity” in Europe, made in 1997 by Antonio Vitulli, in plaster and recycled materials, which reproduces all the most beautiful views of Basilicata.
Among the places of worship, worth a visit are the Church of Santa Lucia in Romanesque-Gothic style preserving a painting by Pietrafesa, the Mother Church of San Donato, patron saint of the village, with a relic of the saint, the Church of San Giuliano of sixteenth-century origins, but remodelled over the centuries, and the current Church of Sant’Antonio, which in ancient times was the chapel of the Convent of the Minori Osservanti, with inside the valuable canvas of the Coronation of the Virgin by Pietrafesa.
A little outside the town is the Church of Santa Maria, a true artistic jewel that features a cycle of frescoes by Todisco dating back to the sixteenth century, particular and evocative also due to its dominant position on Mount Siri from which we can enjoy a spectacular view.
Also on Mount Siri it is worth visiting the Planetario Astronomical Observatory, which carries out didactic, technical and scientific activities thanks to the use of a powerful telescope. The Astronomical Observatory Planetarium (Planetario Osservatorio Astronomico) found here has a powerful telescope and a 12 metre wide dome with an artificial projection, making it possible to explore the universe. It may be necessary to pre-book depending on the day you visit so make sure to check before you go.
Guarding the village are the ruins of a castle dating back to the year 1000, from which it is possible to admire the entire valley, the Camastra Dam and the Ponte Fontanelle Lake.

Romantic, gathered on the top of one of the mountains of the Lucanian Apennines, this village stands out at over 900 m above sea level and is characterised by steep streets that make their way among houses clinging to the rock, suddenly opening to breathtaking views. It is the village of San Valentino, the local patron saint. In winter, an enchanted veil seems to hang over it and the snowy landscape becomes a fairy tale. The ski slopes of the Sellata-Arioso promontory are particularly popular and frequented by skiers. Also in summer there are many possibilities for outdoor sports; to these we should add the curiosity aroused by sacred and cultural sites, such as the Mother Church, built in the 13th century and dedicated to the protector of lovers, embellished with a splendid stone portal and the “Porta di San Valentino” by painter-sculptor Masini, the Baronial Palace, the remains of the feudal castle and the virtual museum dedicated to the two great Lucanian artists from the 17th century, Giovanni and Girolamo Todisco, whose paintings are kept in various sites in Basilicata.