Basilicata

Basilicata

“Anyone who sees Matera cannot help but be awe-struck, so expressive and touching is its sorrowful beauty”

Carlo Levi

Basilicata

Basilicata, like much of southern Italy, is less well-known than other parts of the country, but there are some very good reasons to venture this far south. I have been pretty obsessed with  Basilicata , since I saw the “ Passion of the Christ”, a famous film directed by Mel Gibson. 

I visited  Basilicata for one week and I had the possibility to go through the most significant stages of the location of  the film   “Passion of the Christ”   . Moreover, I explored an Italian region that is still wild, mysterious, and on the verge of discovery !

Basilicata is a place to which few people travel, an Italy’s  hidden treasure – especially for anyone who likes art, culture, unforgettable landscapes, wine & food. I used Potenza, which is the the regional capital of Basilicata , as a base for discovering the most beautiful and charming corners of it. Follow me along this charming travel inside the internal part of Italy!

Basilicata is famous for Matera, the city of stones

Basilicata is located  between Puglia to the east, Campania to the west, and Calabria to the south. Its population of approximately 600,000 people resides in the two provinces, Matera  and Potenza, with the capital in Potenza.

After World War II the importance of  Basilicata started to become widely recognised, most notably when the “Sassi di Matera” became a “UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994”.

The history of Basilicata

Inhabited since prehistoric times, when you visit Basilicata,  you can explore the legacy of many people who settled in this area over the centuries.

In ancient and modern history, Basilicata has survived under the rules of the GreeksRomansGermansByzantinesSaracensMuslimNormansKingdom of NaplesKingdom of Sicily, and, finally, the country of Italy. They all made their mark on Basilicata

This extensive exposure to several cultures has cultivated a rich culture and proud, tightly-knit population , who remained relatively agrarian and poor until recent years, when its potential was recognized by tourists and industrial entrepreneurs alike.

11 Places  to see in Basilicata

  1. Policoro: It’s a town with some 17,000 inhabitants. It’s bounded by the towns of RotondellaScanzano Jonico and Tursi. Situated on the coast, its population swells in the summertime due to an influx of tourists who come to enjoy the “Lido di Policoro“;
  2. The Ionian coast: It’ s a gorgeous stretch of eldorado  on earth. As popular as it is gradually becoming, its coast has remained much less touristy than its neighboor Puglia;
  3. Craco: If you have heard about ghost towns in Italy,  you have probably heard about Craco .This  abandoned town has become one of the most popular filming locations for historic movies;
  4. “The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera”: It comprises a complex of houses, churches, monasteries and hermitages built into the natural caves of the Murgia.  Covering an area of 1,016 ha this remarkable and intact troglodyte settlement contains more than a thousand dwellings and a large number of shops and workshops. The property was first occupied during the Palaeolithic period and shows evidence of continuous human occupation through several millennia until the present day, and is harmoniously integrated into the natural terrain and ecosystem;
  5. 4 Natural parks: They are “Park of the Murgia Matera”, “Regional Reserve of  San Giuliano”, “Timmari Hill”, and the “Pollino National Park”
  6.  Flight of the Eagle: From July to September it’s an experience full of adrenaline: almost one km of flight at 50 miles per hour flying over a marvellous valley of the “Pollino National Park”.  It brings from the beginning point which is high 853 m. to the final station of 579 m, with a difference in height of 274 m;
  7. Venosa : It’s considered one of the most beautiful burghs in Italy. It preserves magnificient monuments of its past, so that it feels like being surrounded by a medieval atmosphere.  Before this period, Venosa was also the important city , where the Latin poet Horace was born;
  8. Melfi : It’s an important agriculture, forestry, and tourist centre, producing cereals, olive oil, wine, and fruit, especially apples.  It was a favourite residence of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, who there assembled the “Parliament” that passed the “Constitutions of Melfi”.
  9. Castelmezzano : In 2007 It was chosen by Arthur Frommer‘s “Budget Travel” magazine among “The best places you’ve never heard of”. In 2017 “The Telegraph” included Castelmezzano  in its “Italy’s 19 most beautiful villages” list   , defining it “one of southern Italy’s most stunningly located villages”;
  10. Pietrapertosa:  Here the monument are not buildings but rocks:  the “Dolomiti Lucane”. These natural architectures have been the perfect hideout of the Arabs;
  11. Aliano: It’s a town , which was the setting of the book “Christ Stopped at Eboli of Carlo Levi’.  In this literary  the town is called “Gagliano”,  according to the local pronunciation. Its “Carlo Levi’s Literary Park” is very interesting.

My 5 Top Places to visit in Basilicata 

  1. Matera: it’s the most interesting city in this region. Its ancient neighborhood has been preserved as an outdoor museum with cave-like dwellings built into the tufo rock . Here many citizens of this impoverished and forgotten region lived along with their livestock. You must also visit its Romanesque Cathedral” and its several 9th-century churches with Byzantine frescoes;
  2. Potenza: it’s the capital of Basilicata . Situated  an altitude of 819m, Potenza is the highest regional capital in Italy.  Nestled within the Apennine Mountains, the city overlooks the Basento River valley;
  3. Metaponto: It’s dotted with large tourist resorts. It was a Greek Achaean colony known as Metapontum. There is  an archaeological site, all that remains of a prosperous city of tens of thousands,  that is twinned with a museum;
  4. Maratea  It’s a hill village high above the sea on Italy’s southern Tyrrhenian coast, in the region of Basilicata. The setting is impressive: below steep wooded slopes, with sparkling glimpses of the sea through a steep pass, and high bare-ridged mountains stretching inland. The area around the town includes little beaches, a marina and a hill crowned by a giant the Statue of Christ the Redeemer”;
  5. Rio Nero in Vulture: It’s located on the slopes of mount Vulture . It’s famous for the production of Aglianico, a strong red local wine.

“Notaio winery”, the famous red wine of Basilicata

None of my stops would be complete in Basilicata without a good bottle of wine! I visited the “Notaio winery ” , which is beautiful and full of history.  It’s located in Rio Nero, in the mount  Vulture.  It covers a land of 40 hectares. Some of the grape plants in the vineyards are from 1960, while the others are cultivated in 2003.

The famous Aglianico red wine

The history of the Giuratrabocchetti winemaking family is ancient and it passed over generation after generation. From 1998, “Notaio winery ”  enhances the Aglianico, which is the special grape  of the  Vulture area  , combining tradition, innovation, history and culture.

The grape  of Aglianico  has been known since ancient Greek times, and it was  celebrated by Horace too. It’ s one of Italy’s best “black” skinned grapes, and produces a deep garnet wine with high levels of tannin and acid.

The food of Basilicata

Basilicata is even a land rich in culinary traditions and unique flavours. Bearing the “DOP mark” (“Protected Designation of Origin”), and the  IGP mark” (“Protected Geographical Indication”)  the typical products are used to prepare delicious dishes. These are a perfect blending of traditional and contemporary ingredients.

Most food in Basilicata  starts with durum wheat in some context – grains have been cultivated here for thousands of years and as a result Basilicata  has one of the oldest baking traditions in Italy.

The bread of Matera

Bread has been made in Matera for almost as long as humans have lived there – perhaps as long ago as 7000BC – fermented in the town’s old cave dwellings before being baked over roaring wood fires.

These days bakers use more modern, industrial equipment, but the recipes and the final results are much the same.

A similar story goes for pasta – the oldest records of pasta refer to it being made in Basilicata, and the region claims a host of unique pasta shapes and dishes as its own, all made from ancient Basilicatan wheat.

Not only “pasta e pane” in Basilicata! 

Basilicatans are unashamedly proud of their bread and pasta, but this region is far more than just starchy carbohydrates. The climate is very similar to that in neighbouring Puglia, and as a result it makes for excellent vegetable growing – Basilicatans are blessed with outstanding vegetables year-round, and they make the most of quintessential Italian ingredients like tomatoes, artichokes and leafy greens

7  Special food of Basilicata
  1. Matera Bread”;
  2. “Canestrato cheese of Moliterno” ;
  3. “Pecorino cheese of Filiano” ;
  4. “Sarconi beans” 
  5. Senise peppers”
  6. “Rotonda red eggplan”; 
  7. “Lucanica”,

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Basilicata is a hidden paradise of Italy

Basilicata is a region that has miles of white sand beaches on one coast, picturesque rocky bays on the other, two mountainous national parks, and one of the world’s oldest cities. There are lots of warm sunshine plus fine food and wine and you might expect the area to be a tourist mecca, busy with hotels and tour buses. However, Basilicata, the arch and instep of Italy’s boot, has all the above but – thanks admittedly to a history of poverty and difficult access – little mass tourism.

That’s why it would be a great idea to go to Basilicata  for your upcoming in Italy. You will discover the wildest part of our “Bel Paese” . This small place located in the south of Italy has plenty of true hidden gems that everyone should see at least once in his or her lifetime.

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