The ancient villages of Basilicata in the province of Matera, with their winding streets and unique landscapes, invite tourists to discover their rich historical, artistic and architectural heritage. Tricarico, Irsina and Montescaglioso are an excellent example of a combination of architecture, history, cuisine and panorama.
Tricarico, short history
The origin of Tricarico is shrouded in mystery, with archaeological evidence dating back to the sixth-fifth century BC; however, the first historical records date back to the year 849 AD, during the Lombard rule. It then underwent Arab influence between the 9th and 10th centuries, becoming a Byzantine fortress. Tricarico was a county of the Sanseverino, a noble Norman family, and a military headquarters. In the 15th century, Tricarico housed a Jewish community, followed in the 16th century by a large Albanian community. Tricarico preserves a remarkable artistic and historical-architectural heritage, and is home to important services and institutions.
What to see in Tricarico
The town rises to 698 meters above sea level, is located in the northern part of the province of Matera and borders the province of Potenza.
Tricarico is considered an Arab-Norman town and has the most preserved historical center of the entire region.
It is rich in civil monuments, ancient churches and its center is divided into five districts: Civita, Saracena, Ràbata, Monte and Piano.
The city extends according to a scheme “to melt”, typical of the medieval cities on the hills.
Among its main monuments are: the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the convent of Santa Chiara, the convent of Sant’Antonio di Padova, the convent of Santa Maria del Carmine, the convent of San Francesco d’Assisi and the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Among the defensive structures stand out the Norman tower, 27 meters high and with walls over 5 meters thick, the towers of the Saracen and Ràbata, and the gates of the fortified city, including the Porta Fontana, dating back to the thirteenth century and still equipped with the stone hinges of the door. The Ducal Palace, which houses the Archaeological Museum, and the noble palaces, dating mainly from the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, complete the architectural picture of the city.
The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the most important church of Tricarico, built on the order of the Norman sovereign Roberto il Guiscardo and place of the coronation of Louis I of Anjou in 1383. Its distinctive feature is given by two impressive supporting arches added to the facade in the seventeenth century to ensure the stability of the building.
The internal structure of the church has three naves with transept, side chapels and a presbytery divided into three quadrangular rooms. Among the relics kept there are those of Sant’Antonio Abatee of San Potito, patron saint of the city. The chapel “Secretarium” is adorned with a series of seventeenth-century stuccoes and houses a fragment of sarcophagus of the third century A.D. depicting the pagan myth of Myrrh and Adonis.
Among the works of art in the cathedral there is a triptych of the Madonna with Saints Francis and Anthony, attributed to the so-called Master ZT, paintings by Cesare Scerra and paintings by Pietro Antonio Ferro.
The Ducal Palace of Tricarico, an ancient noble palace of the ‘500, houses an important Museum. The Ducal Palace was the residence of the Counts of Tricarico since the early fourteenth century, then expanded with the typical structures of a castle, including an entrance door, towers and lower and upper courts. Today it houses the Exhibition Centre of Tricarico, with archaeological finds that testify to the historical importance of the area of the middle Basento, the longest and most important river in Basilicata.
Admission to the Museo di Palazzo Ducale is free, check on the official website of the Museum opening hours.
For tourists who love archaeology, visit the archaeological site of Piano della Civita. The area is located in Tre Cancelli, municipal territory of Tricarico, and houses the remains of a settlement of the fourth century B.C. with acropolis and concentric walls. Accessible from the s.s. 7 Appia, shows Greek building techniques with mosaic floors and Roman structures such as a domus and a temple.
Gastronomic experiences in Tricarico
Lucan cuisine offers Mediterranean flavours, with typical cheeses and cold cuts. Caciocavallo Lucano is renowned, while among the cured meats there are sausage, soppressata, capocollo, loin, bacon, pillow and the Pezzente della Montagna Materana. The latter is an artisanal salami, a Slow Food presidium, obtained with less noble parts of pork, without artificial preservatives. In Tricarico, you can enjoy dishes such as cod with peppers bran and cavatelli with turnip tops. Among the desserts, taralli all’aviglianese and sweet trousers with chestnuts.
Irsina is one of the oldest towns in Basilicata, with Greek and Roman archaeological finds.
Until 1895 its name was Montepeloso, then it was changed to Irsina.
Besieged by the Saracens in 895 A.D. and destroyed in 988, it was rebuilt by John II of Salerno. Quarrel between Byzantines and Normans came under Norman rule in 1041. In 1059 it was elevated to Duchy of Puglia under the Normans. During the Swabian period he became marquisate and then passed to the Angevins. In 1309 it was donated to Bertrando del Balzo and was confiscated by the Aragonese in 1500. In 1799 he joined the Republican revolts, harshly repressed by the troops of Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo. During the fascist period, it became a place of exile.
What to see in Irsina
Irsina rises to 548 meters above sea level in the extreme northern part of the province of Matera, bordered by Tricarico and the western part of the metropolitan city of Bari. Irsina is rich in sacred and civil buildings of enormous historical and artistic value, not to mention the archaeological area of Monte Irsi, just outside the town. The beautiful Cathedral of Sant’Eufemia, built in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1777, has a baroque façade and a Gothic bell tower. Inside, there is a baptismal font in red marble and several Neapolitan paintings of the eighteenth century.
In the cathedral you can admire a beautiful statue of Sant’Eufemia, attributed to both Mantegna and Pietro Lombardo, which has sparked heated debates among scholars.
Foto : Unsplash
Also worth a visit, the following churches:
- The Church of the Convent of San Francesco, originally a 12th century castle of Frederick II, was restored in the Baroque style in the 18th century. It preserves a wooden crucifix of the seventeenth century and frescoes of the fourteenth century in the crypt.
- The Church of Maria Santissima del Carmine, also known as the Church of Purgatory, houses works of art by Andrea Miglionico, Pietro Antonio Ferro and other artists.
- The Church of the Madonna della Pietà, built in the 11th century next to a Benedictine monastery, was restored in the 16th century. It has a medieval arch and a late Renaissance portal.
Among the noble palaces of Irsina to visit are the Palazzi Cantorio, Lombardi and Angeletti.
Moreover, just the town, in its countryside, there are the ancient underground aqueducts of Irsina, called Bottini, dating back to the Middle Ages. Composed of tunnels dug manually into the rock with barrel vaults, they collect underground water to feed sources and cisterns. The first reliable evidence dates back to 1436 and mention the monumental Fountain, known as “The twelve fountains”, powered by this system.
Check on the website of the Municipality of Irsina, the visiting hours of the Bottini.
Gastronomic experiences in Irsina
Among the typical dishes of Irsina are: cavatelli with beans and wild fennel, timbale of mashed beans and chicory, and the famous “callaridd” made with adult lamb and vegetables. For the second course, you can taste vignarola potatoes, lamb with baked potatoes, roast with tomatoes and onion, cod with cherry tomatoes, and long peppers cooked with fresh red tomatoes. Among the traditional Irsinesi sweets, prepared especially for weddings, there are the donuts “ciamm’llen”, the sweets “mastaccer” and the cooked wine pasta “pzzitt”.
Montescaglioso, short history
Montescaglioso has ancient origins, the first traces of settlement date back to the Bronze Age, but the inhabited nucleus was formed between the 8th and 9th centuries BC.
The town has Byzantine roots and was later dominated by various feudal families. During the Middle Ages, Montescaglioso experienced a period of growth under the Norman domination. The development of the city is mainly due to the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo (1079), with renowned frescoes.
In addition to the Abbey, other monasteries were founded, contributing to urban and demographic expansion.
What to see in Montescaglioso
Montescaglioso rises 352 meters above sea level in the extreme central-eastern part of the province of Matera. It borders the provinces of Bari, Taranto, and the same city of Matera.
It has a remarkable artistic heritage – historical, rich in churches, civil architecture, noble palaces and archaeological areas.
In the city there are eleven ancient religious buildings, ranging from the tenth century to the sixteenth and among them, the most important to see are: the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the Benedictine Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo and the Church of San Rocco.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul, unfortunately no longer retains anything of its ancient origins, but deserves a visit in any case to admire the beautiful paintings of Mattia Preti, one of the most important painters of the Neapolitan School. The church, rebuilt in 1776 in late Baroque style, has a large entrance portal and three naves. Inside an altar and a balustrade of polychrome marble, a dome decorated with high reliefs and four canvases by Mattia Preti. It also houses an organ of the eighteenth century, a choir decorated with the coat of arms of the City, two stoups carved and paintings by Giovanni Donadio. The baptistery and the sink come from the abbey of San Michele Arcangelo, while in the sacristy there is a fifteenth-century canvas depicting the Madonna and Child.
The Abbey, founded in the twelfth century in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel, has impressive portals made by Altobello and Aurelio Persio. The Norman bell tower has two mullioned windows on each side, with a cylindrical lantern next to it. Transformed from 1590, the aisles became four chapels per side. The cylindrical dome, completed in 1650, shows seventeenth-century frescoes by the Donadio school. The wooden choir and the marble high altar are now in other churches. The Church of San Rocco, of the sixteenth century, is located in Piazza Roma on a site that once housed ancient Greek tombs. Its rectangular structure is surmounted by a bell tower and preserves the statue of San Rocco, patron saint of Montescaglioso from 1684. Damaged by the earthquake of 1827, it was restored with new stone vaults and a renovated facade. Inside there are oil paintings dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Among the civil buildings worth a visit, the Norman Castle, built by the Maccabeo family at the end of the 11th century. The castle controlled Porta Maggiore, one of the ancient gates of Montescaglioso. It has an entrance courtyard with a portal and two towers, retains cisterns, storage rooms, roof garden, stables and a porch on the ground floor. Passed through various feudal lords, it was transformed into a palace in the seventeenth century by the noble Grillo. Restored, it has frescoes in the large rooms of the upper floor. In 1857, the façade on the Corso della Repubblica was rebuilt in neo-medieval style.
Gastronomic experiences in Montescaglioso
The cuisine of Montescaglioso offers many typical dishes of Lucan cuisine.
Among the first: lagane and chickpeas, handmade fusilli seasoned with sausage, orecchiette with turnips, maritata soup.
Among the seconds: lamb in a pan, Lucana cod, stuffed woodcocks, capitone on a spit. The typical gastronomy of Montescaglioso is known for the traditional feast of January 5, called del Cucibocca and the nine mouthfuls of Epiphany. We eat the “nine bites” or nine local delicacies of the Hill materana, including struffoli, bibs and Christmas cards, marking the end of Christmas lunch. Ancient rites are honored before the Epiphany, and popular belief holds that departed souls return home from purgatory, finding refuge in the tables prepared by the living.
How to reach Tricarico, Irsina and Montescaglioso
To reach these three locations, the best way is by car following the road signs.
By train: Tricarico, and Irsina do not have their own train station, but you can get there nearby using the trains that stop at Ferrandina-Pomarico-Miglionico. From there, take a bus or a taxi to get to the two towns.
Also Montescaglioso does not have its own station, you can get off at Matera Centrale and then continue by taxi, rental car or bus.
By bus: there are bus services that connect the three resorts to other cities in the region. Check bus times and stops at the local station or consult the websites of the transport companies.
By plane: the nearest airports are in Bari or Brindisi, and then continue the journey to the three destinations using other means of transport such as bus, train or car rental.
Copertina: Unsplash
