What to see · Melfi

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Melfi: 5 places to start with

1. 1 Castles Melfi Castle The fortress where Frederick II promulgated the Constitutions of Melfi in 1231, now home to the Archaeological Museum.
2. 2 Churches Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta The Norman bell tower of 1153 is almost all the earthquakes left standing.
3. 3 Castles Palazzo del Vescovado In 1860, 2096 voters gathered here to vote union with the Kingdom of Italy.
4. 4 Churches Chiesa rupestre di Santa Margherita Three knights and two skeletons painted in tuff, on the road from Melfi to Rapolla.
5. 5 Churches Chiesa di San Lorenzo An octagonal baptistery dated to 1120, its bell tower left at its own base.

15 places covered in Melfi Grouped by type, most important first.

Churches and places of worship

8

Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta ★

The Norman bell tower of 1153 is almost all the earthquakes left standing.

Chiesa rupestre di Santa Margherita ★

Three knights and two skeletons painted in tuff, on the road from Melfi to Rapolla.

Chiesa di San Lorenzo ★

An octagonal baptistery dated to 1120, its bell tower left at its own base.

Chiesa dei Cappuccini

On the Tabor hill, the convent that carries the title of the Transfiguration.

Chiesa del Carmine

The medieval door panels are no longer here: they are kept in the Diocesan Museum.

Chiesa di Sant'Antonio

The triumphal arch carries its rebuilding date, 1523, a century after the church went up.

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Chiesa di Sant'Anna

Built in 1934, the church where Melfi's Good Friday procession begins.

Chiesa rupestre della Madonna delle Spinelle

A landslide in 1845 uncovered the hexagonal chapel of the basilica of Santo Stefano.

Castles, palaces and villas

5

Melfi Castle ★

The fortress where Frederick II promulgated the Constitutions of Melfi in 1231, now home to the Archaeological Museum.

Palazzo del Vescovado ★

In 1860, 2096 voters gathered here to vote union with the Kingdom of Italy.

Porta Venosina

A pointed arch between two cylindrical bastions, in dark Vulture lava stone.

Palazzo Mandina-Araneo

A Renaissance front on a medieval body: once the Mandina house, later a courthouse.

Porta Calcinaia

Built in 1018, it was the walled town's only entrance for thirty years.

Squares, fountains and monuments

1

Cripta chiesa Spinelle

A landslide brought it back to light in 1845; only the hexagonal end chapel is left.

Museums, theatres and collections

1

Museo Civico Palazzo Donadoni

The palace of vice-governor Geromino Donadoni now holds Melfi's civic museum.