Pietrapertosa - Italian comune

Pietrapertosa is a scenic town nestled into the Lucano Dolomites in the Basilicata region overlooking the city of Castelmezzano.

Understand

Pietrapertosa is a small mountain town south-east of the regional capital of Basilicata at 1088 meters above sea level. It is inside the Park of Gallipoli Cognato and the Little Lucanian Dolomites and is surrounded by sandstone rocks with fantastic shapes.

Pietrapertosa's Saracen fortress acquired importance with the Normans. In the 17th century it was a feud of the Carafa and later of other feudal lords.

The film An almost perfect country was shot in Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano in 2016. Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano are two of the most beautiful villages in Italy.

History

The origins of this town, the ancient Pietraperciata, or pierced stone, for a large cliff broken through from side to side, are lost over the centuries. It seems to have arisen in the eighth century by the Pelasgians who came down to Lucania and exploited woods, rocks and water to be able to live there. They built their first homes in the lower part of the country to defend themselves from enemy attacks. Then, to live in peace, they built constructions made of overlapping blocks on the rocks, which a few decades ago could still be seen in the rock called "Ostiello".

Later the country was inhabited by the Greeks. Traces of the Hellenic domination can be found in the amphitheater shape of the town. At the time of the invasions of Hannibal, the Romans arrived, drove the Greeks and made Pietrapertosa their Curtis and their Oppidum. Then came the peoples of the north such as Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Saracens, Normans and Swabians who left their mark.

During the feudal era Pietrapertosa was sold from one lord to another. The country also underwent French domination first and Spanish afterwards. Between 1820 and 1821 he took part in the Carbonari uprisings for the independence of the region.

In the early 1900s, Pietrapertosa suffered a strong depopulation due to emigration to the USA and malaria. Between 1820 and 1821 it took part in the Carbonari uprisings for the independence of the region.

The two world wars stole from the country many young people who died at the front. After the war, the lack of work and food again pushed many young people to leave the country. Today it has 1063 inhabitants and is a tourist town.

Neighbourhoods

Arabata is the oldest and most evocative district of Pietrapertosa. Its name dates back to the ancient rulers, the Arabs, who, led by King Bomar, nested here in 838 and made it their fortress at the foot of which they built their homes, similar to real fortresses. They had a rectangular shape, with only two openings made in the shorter sides. They had no fireplace or windows. A hole in the roof served as a skylight. The stone walls were without plaster and the roof in stone slabs.

In Pietrapertosa there are the following squares:

• Giuseppe Garibaldi square
• Piazza Plebiscito
• Piazza Grande

Climate

The climate is mainly Apennine with cold winters (the lowest average temperature is found in January with 3.8 °) and temperate summers (the average temperature is 21.5 ° in July and August).

Visitors can go at any time of the year, but especially in spring, summer and on the occasion of the great national religious holidays for the various events that are organized in the town.

Get in

By plane

The closest airports are those of Naples and Bari.

By car

From the Tyrrhenian side, along the A3 SA-RC take the SS Basentana at the Sicignano junction and continue until the Campomaggiore exit.

From the Ionian side along the SS 106 Taranto - Sibari at the Metaponto junction take the SS Basentana, towards Potenza until the Campomaggiore exit.

For those coming from the north, along the A14 BO-TA, the recommended itinerary leaving the motorway at the Foggia junction is Candela, SS 93 Melfi-Potenza, SS 407 Basentana towards Metaponto up to the Campomaggiore exit.

For those coming from Bari, it is advisable to take the SS 96 up to Matera and the SS 7 up to the junction of the Basentana, towards Potenza up to the Campomaggiore exit.

By bus

The Renna bus lines connect Pietrapertosa to Potenza with frequent daily runs.

Get around

The town can be easily visited on foot or by car.

See

• Chapel of Purgatory, Via Nazionale. In a small chapel there is a 17th century wooden sculpture depicting the Madonna with the child in her arms. The exterior features a stone portal and above a square window with a small hanging bell. It was built by vote by a debt collector belonging to the Zottarelli family.
• Chapel of San Cataldo (at the foot of the Norman-Swabian castle). A small 12th-century sacred building, built in red brick with a gable roof. Inside it is possible to admire the painting of the "Madonna della vita" and the busts of San Giacomo and San Cataldo. On May 10, the day of the feast of San Cataldo, the church comes alive with songs and prayers when the statues of the saints are carried in procession from the Mother Church and on Ascension Day when they return, through the streets of the Arabata, to the church.
• Norman-Swabian Castle. What was once the fortress of King Bomar became the Norman-Swabian castle, dominating from the top of the rocks. In its ruins, even today at a distance of centuries, you can admire the "Queen's Throne" dug into the stone which is accessed by means of a steep but well-preserved ladder. Costanza (the queen) used to sit and receive her trusts. The crumbling walls, the door, still preserved in its arched shape, the various floors, the turret and the prisoners' cells demonstrate intelligence and cunning. of who built the castle.
• Church of San Giacomo Maggiore. In the upper part of the town, stands the Church of San Giacomo Maggiore or the Mother Church. It was built in 1400. The building has two naves, a churchyard and a bell tower with a large clock. Inside the church you can admire the works painted by Pietro Antonio Ferro (1606-1626) such as the Beheading of the Baptist (presbytery), the Eternal (central stall of the sixteenth-century choir) and the Madonna and Child with Saints John and Francis (central nave) and those of Lorenzo De Caro: the Addolorata and the S. Rocco on the second altar of the left aisle. The church was reopened for worship in 2001 after the renovation due to the damage suffered by the 1980 earthquake.
• Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, Garibaldi Street (near Piazza Plebiscito). It belonged to the Verri family. The main façade has a sixteenth-century portal and a flower-shaped window. Inside is the statue of the Madonna del Rosario.
• Chapel of San Rocco, Garibaldi Street (on the top of a flight of steps). Keep the statue of San Rocco. The interior, with a square layout, is connected to the dome decorated in shades of light blue and yellow. The name of the family to which it belongs appears on the architrave of the portal: Mona.
• Church of the Convent of San Francesco. The church of San Francesco rises close to the western side of the convent, founded in 1474 by the will of Pope Sixtus IV. Upstairs there is the choir with a wooden choir of the 14th century, while on the lower floor the rooms are frescoed with floral motifs. The nave is covered by wooden trusses ending in a square presbytery. The church houses seventeenth-century frescoes and paintings by Giovanni De Gregorio known as Pietrafesa and Francesca Guma, two of the greatest seventeenth-century Lucan painters. And then a polyptych by Giovanni Luce from Eboli dating back to 1530, depicting the Eternal Father and the Christ of piety together with the Annunziata and various figures of saints.
• Portali. Going up along Via Garibaldi you can find the portals of ancient noble houses, they remind us of the disappeared nobility, taste for beauty and way of life of past centuries. Among the portals we can mention: the portal of the Zottarelli house, of the Manna house, of the Renna house and Andriuoli.
• Monument to Francesco Torraca. The monument was erected in 1968. The bronze bust is the work of Piscitelli; the base was designed by a local stonemason artist: Vito Nardi.
• Little Calvary. A stone column surmounted by a cross blackened from the centuries of 1474, rises on a staircase carved into the rock.
• Monument to the fallen of the First World War. The monument to the Fallen of the War of 1915-1918 was erected by the Pietrapertosani residing in America, based on a project by an illustrious fellow villager, the engineer Camillo Sacco. At the top of the stele, on whose faces the names of the Fallen are engraved, a golden eagle with outstretched wings, symbol of victory, means that freedom came from death.
• Solar Clock, Piazza del Plebiscito. On the facade of a school building, there is the beautiful Solar Clock, the sundial of Pietrapertosa, on whose dial is shown, in a stylised form, a glimpse of the old panorama.
• Le scalelle. The scalelle represent the soul of Pietrapertosa as they exemplify the symbiosis between the town, its inhabitants and its rocks. These alleys carved into the rock, these steps inserted in the stone do not represent the violence of man against nature, but, on the contrary, the symbol of a coexistence and the explanation of a way of living one's own territory that cannot do without so massive presence of nature. The stairways represent a fundamental piece of urban structure for the town.

Do

There are various leisure, sport and life activities in contact with nature such as walking, trekking, cycling, equestrian tourism, sport climbing on the rocks with equipped walls, hiking with equipped paths, mushroom picking in autumn.

• Route of the Seven Stones. An ancient peasant path, which connects the towns of Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano to be covered in about ninety minutes. The Path of the Seven Stones is a journey into fantasy and tradition, which unfolds in seven stages, recovering a story taken from the text "Vito danced with the witches" by the Lucanian journalist Mimmo Sammartino and translating the themes and the images of the narration Each stage includes a set up space and proposes a key word that restores the sense of the story: destinies, enchantment, spell, flight, dance, delirium. In the central stage, those of the "witches", the visitor learns the whole story, through elements of scenographic and sound suggestion. The route is free. while in the fourth stone the
• Flight of the Angel. A unique tourist attraction in Italy, tallest and longest in Europe. Each flight allows you to travel two lines, safely harnessed and run on steel cables suspended at a height of 400 meters. With the "San Martino" line you start from Castelmezzano and arrive in Pietrapertosa is 1550 m long. it has a difference in height of 131 m. the start is at an altitude of 1019 m. and the arrival is at an altitude of 888 m. With the "Peschiera" line you start from Pietrapertosa and arrive in Castelmezzano is 1378 m long. it has a difference in height of 161 m. the start is at an altitude of 1020 m. and the arrival at an altitude of 859 m. You always leave and arrive in the village where you started. The experience offers unique emotions, with the thrill of speed (a maximum speed of about 120 km/h is reached).

Events

• Carnival. During the Carnival period, groups of children and non-children go around the town playing the "cupa cupa" (friction drum) as an accompaniment to the songs that narrate peasant events and make requests for sweets and delicious local sausages. The Carnival process and the Rafanata Festival take place on Shrove Tuesday. The traditional trial of "that glutton gentleman" is a sort of theater in dialect which is accompanied by a masked parade through the main streets of the village.
• Mascio cut. The Sunday after June 13th. as a devotion to Sant'Antonio di Padova, the feast of "Mascio" is celebrated. It is an arboreal rite dedicated to Sant'Antonio da Padova, which is why the cut takes place on 13 June, in the Montepiano wood. One of the tallest and straightest Turkey oaks in the wood is identified, whose trunk will marry the top of a holly, also carefully chosen. The cutting of the tree is an opportunity to meet and it is customary to consume the pastorale (an ancient recipe based on meat and vegetable broth). Then the two trees are transported with oxen to the village. The day after the transport they are grafted one to the other and raised to the sky in a sort of allegorical marriage that connects heaven and earth. In the morning the procession with the statue of Saint Anthony takes place through the streets of the town,
• Festival of the Lucanian Dolomites. The spectacular scenery of the Dolomites becomes a stage for international soloists and groups. An event that combines great passions for music and the mountains, art and the environment.
• Feast of the Arabs. On the trail of the Arabs. 10 and 11 August. The Arabata district is dressed in "Eastern" outfits, and the carnival also features savory Arab dishes and drinks, Arab-style lamps, lively music and dance, and shows by fakirs, fire eaters and snakecharmers.
• Flavours of autumn. October 31st and November 1st. Tourists are offered a stay in a different scenario of the Lucanian Dolomites, perfumed and painted in autumn with its spectacular colors. It is possible to rediscover the flavors and knowledge of an ancient land, of old crafts, arts and typical products.
• Festival of the "Cuccìa". December 13, S. Lucia. The kennel is cooked in a cauldron in front of the Mother Church, a dish of broad beans, chickpeas, wheat and cicerchie which is then blessed and, at the end of the Mass, is distributed to all the faithful.
• Feast of San Cataldo. May 10. Very characteristic because the chapel is located at the foot of the Norman-Swabian Castle; the latter comes alive with songs and prayers. The wooden statues of Saints Cataldo (co-patron) and Giacomo (patron), are brought to the Chapel of San Cataldo, starting from the Mother Church.
• Patronal feast of San Giacomo. July 25. In the morning there is a tour of the band for the begging and at the conclusion of the holy mass is celebrated. A solemn procession then winds through the town. Civil celebrations in the evening include a musical show with fireworks.
• Feast of San Rocco. Sunday after August 16th. The party begins in the morning with the tour of the local band to collect the offerings and at the end, the Holy Mass is celebrated. The procession through the streets follows the religious rite. In the evening, the festivities in the square with musical performances and fireworks.
• Commemoration of the dead. November 2. Believers go to church early in the morning to bring some wheat "for the Dead", but in reality it is the offering for the priest who celebrates mass in suffrage for souls.

Buy

Eat

Budget

• Cavuoti Bakery-Biscuit Factory, Via S. Angelo, 43 A / B, +39 0971 983266 , +39 349 4551426 .
• Da Anna takeaway pizzeria, Via Nazionale, 8, +39 339 8786259 .

Mid-range

• Il Frantoio Hotel Restaurant ,Via Michele Torraca, 15, ☎ +39 0971 983190. €20.
• Le Rocce Restaurant, Via Garibaldi, 109, ☎ +39 0971 983260.
• Agriturismo Taddeo, Contrada Battaglia, ☎ +39 0971 983006 , +39 333 4271558.

Drink

Sleep

• B&B La casa di Penelope e Cirene, Via Garibaldi, 32, ☎ +39 338 3132196. Cozy and familiar structure with comfortable and warm apartments.
• B&B Le Costellazioni, Via Stazione, 1, ☎ +39 0971 1746699. The accommodation is very typical and well heated with a hall built in an antique style.
• Il Frantoio Hotel Restaurant, Via M. Torraca, 15/17, ☎ +39 0971 983190.
• B&B Dragone, Via Umberto I, 108. Very nice, cozy and spacious with spectacular views of the Lucanian Dolomites.

Stay safe

In the village there are no thefts and it is possible to wander alone even at night.

In this area strong earthquakes can occur.

Connect

Italian Post Office, Via Garibaldi, 85, ☎ +39 0971 983369, fax :+39 0971 983003.

Go next

• Brindisi Castle - Ancient medieval stronghold was a fief of the Sanseverino family in the Aragonese period. In 1478 and 1534 it welcomed colonies of Albanian refugees. The castle at the beginning of 1900 was donated to the Municipality by the Fittipaldi heirs.
• Parco della Grancia - The rural and environmental historical park of Basilicata is located in the Grancia forest, where in the summer the show "La storia bandita" comes to life, that is the largest spectacular representation of popular theater directed by Emmanuel Lavallé and has as its central figure by Carmine Crocco (to whom the actor Michele Placido lends his voice). A real leap into the past, in the years of the insurgencies between 1799 and 1861, when the forests swarmed with brigands, French and Piedmontese gendarmes, farmers tired of suffering the oppressor of the moment. A great heroic narrative of banditry, too often dismissed as a criminal episode, in reality a rebellion against the centuries-old oppression suffered.
• Lucania Outdoor Park - Immersed in one of the most beautiful woods in the area, characterized by oaks even more than twenty meters high, is the Lucania Outdoor Park Adventure Park. It is an acrobatic park suspended in the air where you can experience, in complete freedom and immersed in nature, great emotions and fun. The park offers various routes that wind according to three levels of difficulty, also suitable for children, dotted with Tibetan bridges, walkways, stairs, cableways, Tarzan lianas, rope nets. There is also a practice course in which the elementary techniques necessary to be able to then move on to the actual courses are taught by an instructor. Adjacent to the adventure course there is also an archery field and a very well equipped picnic area.
• Ghost village of Campomaggiore Vecchio - Abandoned in 1885 following a landslide, it is located 4 kilometers north-east of the new town. In the large square, the work of a student of Vanvitelli, overlook the Baronial Palace and the Church. Wide orthogonal streets branch off from here on which peasant houses stand. On the back of the building there is a rare specimen of sequoia, a conifer imported from North America by Count Cutinelli-Rendina.
• Regional Park of Gallipoli Cognato Piccole Dolomiti Lucane - It is a natural reserve of rare beauty, it includes two important forests of Gallipoli and the Montepiano wood, where majestic stems of centenary turkey oaks, fragrant lime trees, pear and wild apple trees, maples and the rare holly. The park offers a dense network of well-marked trails suitable for both beginners and experienced hikers.