Pane di Matera durum wheat semolina bread, thick crust and yellow crumb
Durum wheat semolina, thick crust, shaped as a horn or a tall loaf: Pane di Matera has held Protected Geographical Indication status since 2008.
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Basilicata is also called Lucania, and it is not an affectation: that was the region's official name from 1932 to 1947. It has only two provinces, Potenza and Matera, and 131 comuni; the capital is Potenza, but the city everyone knows is the other one. Matera, with its Sassi carved into the rock and inhabited for millennia, has been a UNESCO site since 1993 and was European Capital of Culture in 2019: in two generations it went from national shame to symbol of the South.
The rest of the region is harsh and cinematic. The Lucanian Dolomites of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa are joined by a steel cable, the Volo dell'Angelo; Craco is a ghost village; the woods of the Pollino cover the border with Calabria. And there are two seas a few dozen kilometres apart: Maratea on the Tyrrhenian, Metaponto on the Ionian. As an institution the region is recent — set up in 1948, operative only from 1970 — and what you take home is the bread of Matera and the peperone crusco of Senise.
The best of Basilicata
The places worth the trip on their own, picked by our editors.
Matera 🏘 Matera The Sassi cave dwellings, a World Heritage Site 
Melfi 🏛 Potenza The castle of Frederick II's Constitutiones 
Policoro 🏖 Matera The Ionian beach above ancient Heraclea 
Bernalda 🏖 Matera A town planned in 1497 and Greek Metaponto 
Venosa 🏛 Potenza Horace's city and the roofless abbey 
Senise 🍷 Potenza The crusco pepper and the dam on the Sinni 
Nova Siri 🏖 Matera Dunes and pine woods below the old town 
Maratea 🏖 Potenza Black coves beneath the white marble Christ The provinces of Basilicata
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The top 20 places in Basilicata
Our editors' ranking: the area's most important places, drawn from the individual town guides. See the national rankings →
1 🏛️ Squares & old towns Sassi di Matera 📍 Matera Two quarters cut into limestone, emptied in the 1950s and lived in once more today. 
2 🎈 Unique experiences Lucanian Dolomites and the Angel's Flight 📍 Castelmezzano A steel cable between two Lucanian villages, 400 metres above the sandstone spires. 
3 🏛️ Squares & old towns Craco Ghost Town 📍 Craco Evacuated in 1963 due to a landslide, this striking ghost town overlooks the badlands and serves as a famous film set. - 4 Christ the Redeemer of Maratea Maratea · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 5 Palombaro Lungo Matera · 🏺 Archaeological sites
- 6 Melfi Castle Melfi · 🏰 Castles & palaces
- 7 Metaponto Bernalda · 🏺 Archaeological sites
- 8 Eraclea Policoro · 🖼️ Museums
- 9 cattedrale di Acerenza Acerenza · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 10 cattedrale di San Gerardo Potenza · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 11 Grumentum Grumento Nova · 🖼️ Museums
- 12 statua del Redentore Maratea · 🏛️ Squares & old towns
- 13 castello di Lagopesole Avigliano · 🏰 Castles & palaces
- 14 cattedrale di Matera Matera · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 15 complesso abbaziale della Santissima Trinità Venosa · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 16 Museo archeologico nazionale di Metaponto Bernalda · 🖼️ Museums
- 17 cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta Tricarico · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 18 Castello Tramontano Matera · 🏰 Castles & palaces
- 19 catacombe ebraiche di Venosa Venosa · 🏺 Archaeological sites
- 20 cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta Melfi · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
Basilicata and around, on the map
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
🍝 At the table: Basilicata
✨ Basilicata by theme
Tours, tickets and experiences
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Feast of Saint Andrew Avellino
📅 Every year, on 10 November (as well as the third Sunday of May and 13 August)
Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea celebrates its patron Saint Andrew Avellino on 10 November, as well as on the third Sunday of May and on 13 August; the town's church is dedicated to the saint.
Saint Laverius and the Madonna del Monserrato
📅 Every year, Saint Laverius on 17 November; the Madonna del Monserrato on the last Sunday of August
Grumento Nova celebrates the Madonna del Monserrato on the last Sunday of August and Saint Laverius on 17 November: the day the saint, born in Acerenza, died a martyr at Grumentum in 312.
The three patrons of Acerenza
📅 Every year, Saint Laviero on 17 November; Saint Marianus on 30 April, Saint Canius on 25 May
Acerenza has three patrons and three dates. Saint Laviero was born here, in vico Tergia, and died a martyr at Grumentum on 17 November 312: his feast is preceded by a triduum of prayer.
Saint Laviero, the martyr saved from wild beasts and beheaded at Grumentum
📅 Every year, on 7 September and 17 November
Tito celebrates Saint Laviero the martyr on 7 September and 17 November, the anniversary of his martyrdom in 312 AD: according to legend, the wild beasts to which he was thrown crouched at his feet, and an angel freed him from prison before he was finally captured and beheaded before the people.