Located at the entrance to the Sinni Valley, at the foot of Monte Alpi, lies the municipality of Latronico, known above all for its spa, frequented, according to some testimonies, since the 19th century. Archaeological research conducted in the early part of the twentieth century has brought to light in the Calda caves votive niches to be traced back to the ancient rites connected to the cult of water. Today the spa La Calda represent an important tourist complex that makes it possible to practise therapeutic treatments in the various structures present in Latronico. The springs, which flow at 750 meters, come out at a temperature of 22 degrees at the source; these are medium-mineral waters that are also used for bath-mud-therapy treatments. Latronico, as already mentioned, rises in the shadow of Monte Alpi, a marvellous relief whose peak is at 1900 meters above sea level. Along the road that leads from the village to the mountain, we come across some examples of Bosnian pine and also ancient quarries of a marble with particular resistance and smoothness. In Latronico it is possible to visit the work of the international artist Anish Kapoor “Earth Cinema” in the thermal park, inside which there is a 45 meter long “cut” dug into the earth where visitors can enter from both sides: a long slit makes it possible to see the extraordinary natural landscape, thus creating great involvement. Interesting is the Civic Archaeological Museum located in the hamlet of Calda: it houses a selection of archaeological materials from regular excavations conducted in the Latronico area. Consisting of two halls, that of Prehistory and another dedicated to the Historical Age, clearly shows, thanks to the various finds from the excavation campaigns, the intense cultural exchanges that the locality of Colle dei Greci during the seventh and sixth centuries BC had both with the Greeks of the Ionian coast and with the Etruscans of the Campania-Tyrrhenian area. An evocative place is the Museum of Arts, Crafts and Rural Civilisation, which exhibits not only the tools of rural work, but also that of the artisans supporting agriculture. In the historic centre there is the Basilica of Sant’Egidio Abate, on the homonymous square. Characterised by two columns in the central nave, with two holy water stoups from the mid-nineteenth century, in the right transept there is an eighteenth-century oil painting depicting Sant’Alfonso. On the side walls of the apse there are oil paintings with Sant’Egidio in Gloria by Emilio Larocca di Trecchina and the polyptych Vita di Sant’Egidio by Egidio Viola from Latronico. Not to be missed, in August, the Palio Rionale di S. Egidio in which different teams representing the districts of the village compete in sports competitions.
