On the highlands North of the Basento river, where the Roman Appian Way from Rome to Brindisi and Taranto crosses the sheep tracks passing through Basilicata to reach the Thyrrenian coastline, that’s where Tricarico stands, a town rich of art works and history of the region. Three belts of wall and many other archaelogical findings indicate that the site was populated as early as the V Century B.C. The town we visit today was built by the Longobards and fortified by the Byzantines and then by the Normans. But an unmisteakable touch was left by the Saracens, who ruled this area for more than a century, with the Moorish architecture of the Rabata and Saracena districts and the roof gardens, many of them still in use. The Tricarico landmark is the Norman tower, watching over the town; in the inner town, most important is the cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, built by will of Robert the Norman, where Louis I Anjou was crowned king of Naples in 1383. Among other churches and monasteries (52 of them were numbered in 1585), the one dedicated to Santa Chiara deserves a visit. In the Renaissance Ducal Palace, a permanent exhibition dedicated to archaelogy in the Medio Basento territory. Archaelogical sites can be visited in the area.