Traveling to discover the most beautiful villages of Basilicata is like taking a leap into ancient history, a dive into popular traditions and rites, an immersion in the most luxuriant nature among parks and dunes, streams and paths.
Here is a small selection of villages to visit, allowing yourself to be enchanted by the stone houses topped by castles and set among the mountains or overlooking the hills or facing the sea.
The tour starts from
Acerenza
, a village with an ancient history thanks to its strategic position on a hill, in the heart of the Lucanian territory.
In the historic center stands the imposing cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, a Romanesque masterpiece with beautiful frescoes.
Leaving the Mother Church you walk through the alleys up to the eighteenth-century buildings of Gala and the Old Curia;
the latter occupies a part of the ancient castle.
Nestled among the Lucanian Dolomites, the village of
Castelmezzano
is a splendid postcard and one of the most characteristic places in the region.
In the evening, with the lights on close to the rocky mountains, it is even more poignant.
Unmissable, but only for the bravest, is the experience of the
Flight of the Angel
: attached to a sturdy steel cable you fly across the village to the nearby town of Pietrapertosa.
Pietrapertosa
can also be reached easily by car: the village is the highest in Basilicata, in the heart of the
Lucanian Dolomites Park, among
imposing sandstone rocks from which the origin of its name which means 'perforated stone' derives
.
In the village, the Norman castle with its surrounding walls, some rooms dug into the rock and the Mother Church with frescoes from the 1700s are worth a visit.
Lagonegro
is a small medieval village with narrow and steep streets;
according to legend, Monnalisa, the iconic protagonist of Leonardo da Vinci's painting, today buried in the church of San Nicola, lived the last years of her life here.
The village is also known for the artisanal production of tower clocks, exported all over the world.
Rivello
, spread over three hills, is also
a village of artisans: watchmakers, goldsmiths, coppersmiths and leather tanners have made the history of the town.
But Rivello is above all famous because in winter, covered in snow, it looks like a nativity scene: with the lights illuminating the whiteness of the snow it is a suggestive and unique postcard.
Furthermore, the small village is home to more than 20 churches: that of the Annunziata, the Chapel of Santa Barbara and the convent of Sant'Antonio are worth a visit.
Most of the houses in
Satriano di Lucania
are covered in murals: after the 1980 earthquake, to redevelop the village it was decided to create paintings to embellish the homes.
In addition to a walk through the alleys, it is pleasant to enter the ancient seventeenth-century castle and the mother church, rebuilt in the 1950s but which still retains the old bell tower intact.
Guardia Perticara
is a tiny stone village, where the
narrow alleys
overlook ancient houses, portals, steps, arches and balconies, all strictly in stone, which dominate a stupendous landscape.
Worth visiting is the church
of San Nicolò Magno
and admiring the panorama of the entire valley of the Sauro torrent from the top of the hill on which Casa Sasso, the ancient castle of the town, stands.
In the heart of Vulture, in the northern part of the region,
Venosa
is a village that combines history, art and culture in the
enchanting Aragonese castle
which houses the National Museum.
Worth a visit are the unfinished Benedictine church, an artistic masterpiece of Venosa, and the
Archaeological Park
, an open-air museum within which it is possible to admire ancient Roman baths, remains of villas, catacombs, underground tombs and a stupendous amphitheatre.
The village of
Aliano
is linked to Carlo Levi's literary masterpiece, '
Christ Stopped at Eboli'
, set right among its houses.
Here, the writer spent part of his confinement, and was so impressed by it that he asked to be buried there after his death.
The historical museum that bears his name houses important testimonies that retrace his history.
Melfi
is famous above all for its castle of medieval origins, one of the best-known symbols of Basilicata, built during the Norman period, but which underwent several modifications in the Angevin and Aragonese eras.
The famous Constitutions of Melfi
were promulgated within its walls
.
In the
historic center
it is possible to visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, built in 1076, and the church of Sant'Antonio dating back to 1423;
suggestive are the
rock
ones found in the surrounding area, such as those
of Santa Margherita
, dug out of a tuff rock and dating back to 1200, and that of the
Madonna delle Spinelle
, discovered in 1845. Today only the terminal chapel of the plant can be visited hexagonal, with six semi-columns supporting a cornice.
Also worth admiring is the
church of Santa Lucia
with beautiful 13th century frescoes created in the crypt.