At Lagonegro they tell that in the church of San Nicola is buried the woman of the most famous portrait in the world: Lisa del Giocondo, who died here in 1506 while passing through. It is a stubborn local tradition, which scholarship does not confirm, since the Florentine documents put her death much later; but in the town the story is still told, and with conviction.
What to see
The church was built between the ninth and tenth centuries and has been remade many times since: the interior is wide and irregular in form, because every enlargement added a piece without redoing the whole. The high altar is of the eighteenth century, and among the works are a crucifix by Altobello Persio and a canvas with the Madonna and several female saints.
It is the co-cathedral of the diocese, and stands in the upper, older part of the town, propped against the slope with the houses crowded round. From up there you see the Noce valley and the mountains of the Pollino, and you understand why Lagonegro was for centuries a compulsory stop on the road between Naples and Calabria.
Visiting
The church is in the old centre of Lagonegro, uphill from the modern part of the town; free entry with hours tied to services. Half an hour.
Our editors' tip
Ask a local about the Mona Lisa and listen to how they tell it. Whether or not the story stands up to the documents, the way a town keeps its own version of the facts alive says something true about that town, and it is worth the journey as much as an altar.
