In 1799 Picerno was the gathering point for the republicans of western Basilicata, and it held out against Cardinal Ruffo's sanfedista army. It ended badly, with some seventy dead, most of them inside the Chiesa Madre where the rebels had taken refuge; from that the town carries the name Leonessa della Lucania, lioness of Lucania, and 10 May is still a civic holiday.
The dialect spoken here is Gallo-Italic, that is northern: a language island that came down heaven knows when and stayed. And they make cured meats: about half of all Lucanian production comes out of Picerno, including the lucanica IGP sausage. There are 6,080 residents; today's centre grew up outside the old walls, after the earthquake of 1857 had flattened almost everything.
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📅 Every year, on 9 May and 6 December
Picerno celebrates Saint Nicholas on 9 May and 6 December; in its mother church, in 1799, the rebels of Picerno resisted to the last, earning the town the name Lioness of Lucania.
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 Picerno, but an easy day trip away.
