In 968, when the Byzantines reorganised the south, Tursi became capital of the theme of Lucania and a bishopric of the Greek rite. It was not an empty title: in 1601 it was the most populous town in the province, with 1,799 hearths, ahead of Melfi, Venosa, Potenza and Tricarico.
The primacy lasted. Until the Bourbon reform of 1816 Tursi was the first of the four districts of Basilicata, and its territory reached the Ionian: it took in the tower of Trisaja, one of the seven that defended the Lucanian coast against raids from the sea. There are 5,151 residents today, and the title of city came back in 2006.
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📅 Every year, on 26 May; the Madonna of Anglona on 8 September
On 26 May Tursi celebrates Saint Philip Neri; on 8 September it is the turn of the Madonna of Anglona, the town's best-known feast.
Durum wheat semolina, thick crust, shaped as a horn or a tall loaf: Pane di Matera has held Protected Geographical Indication status since 2008.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Tursi, but an easy day trip away.
