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.
Read more →Until 1927 the province of Potenza was the whole of Basilicata: the land that now answers to Matera was split off only then, and the coat of arms is still the one used by the old province of Basilicata under the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It remains the larger of the region's two provinces, 100 municipalities and close to 378,000 residents, bordering Campania, Puglia and Calabria, with a short stretch of Tyrrhenian coast in the south-west.
Its two draws sit at opposite ends. South-west is Maratea, a town of five thousand on that piece of Tyrrhenian shore, with the Christ the Redeemer statue standing above it; north, in the Vulture area, are Melfi castle and nearby Venosa. Between them rise the Lucanian Dolomites, where the Volo dell'Angelo cable ride starts at Castelmezzano. Potenza, the capital, works mainly as a base for moving between the two.
Towns in the province of Potenza
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100 towns
Abriola Acerenza Albano di Lucania Anzi Armento Atella Avigliano Balvano Banzi Baragiano Barile Bella Brienza Brindisi Montagna Calvello Calvera Campomaggiore Cancellara Carbone Castelgrande Castelluccio Inferiore Castelluccio Superiore Castelmezzano Castelsaraceno Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea Cersosimo Chiaromonte Corleto Perticara Episcopia Fardella Filiano Forenza Francavilla in Sinni Gallicchio Genzano di Lucania Ginestra Grumento Nova Guardia Perticara Lagonegro Latronico Laurenzana Lauria Lavello Maratea Marsico Nuovo Marsicovetere Maschito Melfi Missanello Moliterno Montemilone Montemurro Muro Lucano Nemoli Noepoli Oppido Lucano Palazzo San Gervasio Paterno Pescopagano Picerno Pietragalla Pietrapertosa Pignola Potenza Capital Rapolla Rapone Rionero in Vulture Ripacandida Rivello Roccanova Rotonda Ruoti Ruvo del Monte San Chirico Nuovo San Chirico Raparo San Costantino Albanese San Fele San Martino d'Agri San Paolo Albanese San Severino Lucano Sant'Angelo Le Fratte Sant'Arcangelo Sarconi Sasso di Castalda Satriano di Lucania Savoia di Lucania Senise Spinoso Teana Terranova di Pollino Tito Tolve Tramutola Trecchina Trivigno Vaglio Basilicata Venosa Vietri di Potenza Viggianello Viggiano
The best of Province of Potenza
Melfi 🏛 The castle of Frederick II's Constitutiones 
Venosa 🏛 Horace's city and the roofless abbey 
Senise 🍷 The crusco pepper and the dam on the Sinni 
Maratea 🏖 Black coves beneath the white marble Christ 
Latronico ♨ Sulphur springs beside Mesolithic caves 
Rapolla ♨ Chalybeate waters and cellars dug into the tuff The top 20 places in Potenza
Our editors' ranking: the area's most important places, drawn from the individual town guides. See the national rankings →
1 🎈 Unique experiences Lucanian Dolomites and the Angel's Flight 📍 Castelmezzano A steel cable between two Lucanian villages, 400 metres above the sandstone spires. 
2 ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries Christ the Redeemer of Maratea 📍 Maratea Towering 21.13 meters above Mount San Biagio, Bruno Innocenti's 1965 statue rises directly from the bare earth. 
3 🏰 Castles & palaces Melfi Castle 📍 Melfi The fortress where Frederick II promulgated the Constitutions of Melfi in 1231, now home to the Archaeological Museum. - 4 cattedrale di Acerenza Acerenza · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 5 cattedrale di San Gerardo Potenza · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 6 Grumentum Grumento Nova · 🖼️ Museums
- 7 statua del Redentore Maratea · 🏛️ Squares & old towns
- 8 castello di Lagopesole Avigliano · 🏰 Castles & palaces
- 9 complesso abbaziale della Santissima Trinità Venosa · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 10 catacombe ebraiche di Venosa Venosa · 🏺 Archaeological sites
- 11 cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta Melfi · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 12 concattedrale di Marsico Nuovo Marsico Nuovo · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 13 concattedrale di San Nicola Lagonegro · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 14 concattedrale di Sant'Andrea Venosa · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 15 Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta Rapolla · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 16 Abbazia di San Filippo Lauria · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 17 Chiesa di San Giuseppe Ripacandida · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 18 Palazzo Sanseverino Chiaromonte · 🏰 Castles & palaces
- 19 chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo Potenza · ⛪ Churches & sanctuaries
- 20 ponte sul Basento Potenza · 🏛️ Squares & old towns
Potenza and around, on the map
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
🍝 At the table: Basilicata
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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.
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.
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.