The abbey of San Lorenzo in Tufara has two exact dates: work began in 1081 and was completed in 1100, while Leone, archbishop of Conza from 1081 to 1103, was still alive. It is a Norman foundation, built in the contrada of Tufara, just outside the built-up centre of Pescopagano, and since then it has taken almost everything that has hit this corner of Basilicata: the bombing of 1944 and the earthquakes.
What to see
What you visit today is mainly the church, put back on its feet by an extensive restoration begun after the 1980 earthquake. Of the abbey proper only ruins are left, and they are the more interesting part: they open up to the right of the church, beyond a lime tree several centuries old that marks the way better than any sign.
The damage of 1944 came from the war: Pescopagano was attacked by retreating Nazi troops and by the Allies trying to block their way north, and the bombing hit the abbey along with the hamlet of Montecalvo, where many townspeople had taken refuge. The rest was done by earthquakes: the one of 8 September 1694 destroyed almost the whole town, burying more than six hundred people under the rubble; the one of 23 November 1980 killed around twenty people here and forced the restoration the abbey owes its present shape to.
Visiting
You get there by the road that leads to San Lorenzo, whose start is marked by the church of the Incoronata: a stone portal of 1837, neoclassical pilasters at the corners of the façade and, inside, in a niche behind glass, the statue of the Madonna dell'Incoronata from Puglia that gives the church the name everyone uses. The open space in front of the abbey, laid out after the restoration, has often hosted village feasts and food fairs in recent years.
Our editors' tip
Don't stop at the church, as almost everyone does. Keep right, walk past the big lime tree and go on to the ruins: that is where the Norman abbey shows itself, and it is the part that justifies the trip. If you can choose the date, aim for the night of San Lorenzo, when the space in front fills up for the feast.