{"id":7834,"date":"2025-11-05T13:54:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T13:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/the-provinces-of-basilicata-a-journey-between-matera-and-potenza-jewels-of-southern-italy\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T14:16:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:16:46","slug":"the-provinces-of-basilicata-a-journey-between-matera-and-potenza-jewels-of-southern-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/the-provinces-of-basilicata-a-journey-between-matera-and-potenza-jewels-of-southern-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"The provinces of Basilicata: a journey between Matera and Potenza, jewels of southern Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Basilicata provinces: troglodyte villages, mountains and traditions\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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La Basilicata<\/b><\/span><\/a>nestled between Apulia<\/b><\/span>and Campania<\/b><\/span> and Calabria Calabria<\/b><\/span>is a little-known region of southern Italy. It is divided into two contrasting territories: the province of Matera<\/b><\/span>famous for its UNESCO-listed troglodyte town, and the province of Potenza the province of Potenza<\/b><\/span>dominated by the Pollino mountains and the hilltop villages of the Dolomiti Lucane. <\/p>

These two provinces of Basilicata<\/b><\/span> embody the diversity, tradition and authenticity of an Italy apart, far from the tourist circuits.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The province of Matera: the troglodyte city and local flavours\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The province of Matera province of Matera<\/b><\/span> without mentioning the Sassi<\/b><\/span><\/a>troglodytic districts carved out of the limestone rock and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/b><\/span> since 1993. These labyrinthine alleyways and their rock churches offer a journey through time. <\/p>

In 2019, Matera has been European Capital of Culture<\/b><\/span>confirming its status as one of southern Italy's cultural gems.<\/p>

Around the city, the Murgia materana<\/b><\/span> unfolds its arid landscapes, while the fertile plains of the Bradano<\/b><\/span> and the Ionian beaches of Metaponto<\/b><\/span> recall the region's Greek heritage.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Flavours to discover :<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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  • Pane di Matera PGI<\/b><\/span>emblematic sourdough bread;<\/p><\/li>

  • Peperoni cruschi<\/b><\/span>dried and fried red peppers;<\/p><\/li>

  • Lucanica<\/b><\/span>a traditional sausage from ancient Rome;<\/p><\/li>

  • Baccal\u00e0 alla lucana<\/b><\/span>simmered cod with peppers and tomatoes.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    The province of Potenza: wild mountains and hilltop villages\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    To the west, the province of Potenza<\/b><\/span> with its majestic landscapes and preserved rural traditions.<\/p>

    The Pollino National Park<\/b><\/span>the Monte Sirino<\/b><\/span> and the Dolomiti lucane<\/b><\/span> offer spectacular panoramas. The primary beech forests<\/b><\/span>classified by UNESCO, are home to a rare biodiversity and are an invitation to hike. <\/p>

    The villages of Castelmezzano<\/b><\/span> and Pietrapertosa<\/b><\/span>clinging to the mountainside, are ranked among most beautiful in Italy<\/b><\/span>. As for Maratea<\/b><\/span>on the Tyrrhenian coast, with its cliffs, turquoise coves and monumental statue of the Christ the Redeemer<\/b><\/span>. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Local specialities :<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    • Caciocavallo podolico<\/b><\/span>mountain-aged cheese;<\/p><\/li>

    • Agnello alla lucana<\/b><\/span>lamb simmered in herbs ;<\/p><\/li>

    • Strascinati<\/b><\/span>artisanal fresh pasta ;<\/p><\/li>

    • Aglianico del Vulture DOC<\/b><\/span>a volcanic red wine with a powerful character.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Basilicata: a land of a thousand faces<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      Between Matera<\/b><\/span> and Potenza<\/b><\/span>Basilicata reveals a rare richness:<\/p>

      • contrasting landscapes, between sea and mountains ;<\/p><\/li>

      • a farming culture<\/b><\/span> heir to a thousand years of history;<\/p><\/li>

      • a authentic gastronomy<\/b><\/span>both rustic and refined.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

        Visit the provinces of Basilicata<\/b><\/span>is to discover an authentic Italy where natural beauty blends with tradition and conviviality.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The Basilicata provinces: troglodyte villages, mountains and traditions La Basilicatanestled between Apuliaand Campania and Calabria Calabriais a little-known region of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570,555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basilicata-tourism","category-tourism-activities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7835,"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834\/revisions\/7835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercazzurro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}