Rionero in Vulture, on the slopes of the volcano, is known for being the birthplace of Giustino Fortunato, a politician, historian and thinker, who first raised the “questione meridionale”, or the issue of southern Italy’s conditions. The beautiful Palazzo Fortunato now houses the town library, family

Wine drinker. Detail of the Nativity of the Wine, in the seventeenth-century cellars of the former Franciscan hospital, now owned by Cantine del Notaio, in Rionero in Vulture

Old winery for vinification cellars in Eubea, in Rionero in Vulture

archives and a Museum of rural culture. In nearby Barile, the bilingual names of the places and of the streets originate from the presence of the Albanian colony, which started in Barile in 1477. In 1861 the town became the headquarters of local brigands, in 1930 it was damaged by an earthquake, and in 1964 it was chosen by Pier Paolo Pasolini, to shoot some scenes of his movie The Gospel according to Matthew. Venosa, at the foot of the volcano, is included in the list of the most beautiful little towns in Italy. The impressive Aragonese castle, with a square layout and cylindrical towers, dominates the old town. The castle was built in 1470, on the site where the remains of a system of Roman cisterns and of the ancient cathedral, were found. It houses the town library and the Archaeological Museum.

Vulture vineyards and, in the background, Ripacandida

The smallest wine production area in Basilicata is the Terre dell’Alta Val d’Agri Doc zone, created with the 2003 harvest and covering a dozen hectares: red and rosé wines are produced in the province of Potenza, in the communes of Grumento, an ancient Roman city, Moliterno, with a number of interesting churches and Viggiano, a ski resort. In southern Basilicata, the Matera Doc zone develops around the attractive town of Matera, with its typical Sassi, the ancient dwellings dug into the rock. The wines produced near Matera and in the territories of Scanzano Jonico, Tursi, Nova Siri, are reds, whites and sparklers in the classic Champagne method.

Places not to miss

Matera, Sasso Barisano. Around the city they produce Matera Doc wine

The Sassi are the ancient dwellings, excavated in the rock of the ravine, extending below the historic district of Matera. The Civita, the ancient town with the Cathedral and the noble palaces, develops on a rocky spur, separating the “Sasso barisano” from the older “Sasso caveoso“. The latter one looks like a Roman amphitheater, with a series of “cave dwellings” at different levels. Various artistic influences have shaped this magical town over the centuries: from.prehistory, to the Renaissance, to the Baroque period. After some dark years in the mid-twentieth century, a law issued in 1986, allowed Matera’s urban renewal and a return to its former glory.