Schedule
Day 1:
We will depart at 09:30 from our Agriturismo/camping site (those who want to will have arrived at the facility the day before) of this small mountain village within the Matese Regional Park, which takes its name from the famous 'river of oblivion' of Greek and Roman mythology, the Lete. A river also recalled in Dante Alighieri's Purgatorio, which he imagines purifying souls before ascending to Paradise, in order to forget earthly sins. The town of Letino is nestled on a long spur of rock on the southern slope of the Matese, in an unspoilt landscape and in a central and panoramic position between Lake Gallo and Lake Letino. The latter basin was created by the artificial damming of the Lete river, which sinks underground and forms a karstic cave explored by speleologists since the 1920s, the Grotta del Cauto, a large natural tunnel rich in stalactite and stalagmite formations, which on the opposite side opens up with a spectacular view of the valley. A stroll through the narrow streets of the old town centre leads to the parish church of San Giovanni Battista, with its stone façade and bell tower, and then to the highest point, dominated by the Castle and the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Castello, in 18th-century style.
We then arrive at Roccamandolfi, where, following the paths along the Callora torrent, it is possible to admire a gorge with steep walls, carved by the waters of the torrent, which are abundant especially in winter.
In several places, the water collects in small pools, some quite deep, and makes spectacular jumps. The small medieval village is a dense network of narrow streets and small houses, surrounding the church of San Giacomo.
Not far from the church you can see the four ancient units of measurement for grain, made of polished stone and corresponding to the 'tomolo' the 'mezzetto' the 'quarto' and the 'misura'.
This village also preserves one of the most beautiful and oldest 'road crosses' in Molise, showing on one side Christ on the cross and on the other Christ seated on a throne, in the act of blessing. Passing through the upper part of the village, following a path through the greenery, you reach the castle. Starting from the princely building and passing along a route characterised by mountain paths, woods and streams, we arrive at a Tibetan Bridge: a small masterpiece of engineering and metalwork suspended in the void. Here we can (can) take an adrenaline-filled walk at high altitude and surrounded by fascinating rock faces.
We will then pass by Bojano, whose name is said to derive from 'the ox'. Among the vestiges of the past, we must see the 11th-century cathedral dedicated to St Bartholomew, patron saint of the town and diocese, one of the oldest in Christendom.
The building has been destroyed several times and has undergone many transformations. During the latest restoration work, an ancient apse was discovered under the altar, from which water gushes out and which is accessed via seven steps, symbolising the seven deadly sins.
This characteristic makes Bojano Cathedral probably the only existing cathedral to have its altar above a spring of water.
It is worth visiting the medieval fortified village, known as Civita di Bojano, which overlooks the present town.
From the ruins of the old castle you can enjoy a suggestive view: on one side the Matese mountains, on the other the plain where Bojano stands, with the beginning of the Biferno river valley and the Tratturo Pescasseroli-Candela.
At the foot of the old fortress, however, within a largely visible city wall, is a complex of small houses and narrow streets, largely uninhabited.
The silence and the small streets make this village a truly magical place!
Last but not least, the Sant'Egidio Sanctuary, located at an altitude of 1,000 metres in the beech woods of the Matese and reachable only on foot, following a mountain path.
The small church, probably dating back to the 9th-10th centuries, is located near a spring of pure water.
Along the way, we will not miss the "Pozzo della Neve, or the Abisso dei Sogni, or the Abyss of Dreams, the cave of the Charismatic Fathers, which has more legends than metres of stairs and which forces its explorers to unspeakable efforts, rewarding them with its beauty...". The abyss Pozzo della Neve opens in the beech forest of Costa del Carpine, in the locality of Tornieri, inside the WWF Guardiaregia - Campochiaro Oasis.
It falls in a sector of the north-eastern Matese, between Costa S. Angelo, Piscina Cul di Bove, Costa del Carpine and Tre Torrette, characterised by numerous karstic manifestations, both hypogean and epigean, which, located a short distance from each other, suggest the existence in the area of an enormous underground karstic complex. Already known to the locals, who used the site as an ice and water supply point during the summer season, it was described and explored by a group of Roman speleologists in 1955. The abyss represents one of the most conspicuous hypogean karst phenomena in the southern Apennines and is, both in terms of its planimetric development and its depth, the largest hypogean karst form in the Matese. It has, in fact, a depth of 1048 m and a linear extension of over 8000 m. The abyss has two entrances, located a short distance apart and reachable by taking the road from Guardiaregia to Serra del Perrone and then, from there, taking path N 5 "Valle Uma", which runs inside the Oasis.
Continuing on, we arrive at Altilia, at the foot of the Matese where there is an ancient Roman ruin, practically a forgotten treasure, less than half an hour's drive from Campobasso.
The site, a flourishing town two millennia ago, is enclosed by three gates, which were the only three entrances to the centre. They present a level of preservation that borders on perfection and on which statues and bas-reliefs are installed, making them even more fascinating. On one of them, in our opinion the most interesting, it is possible, by means of an authentic staircase, to climb up to the top of its arch and walk, albeit only a few metres, through what were once the walls and are now almost absent, except near the gates. The amphitheatre, which is also perfectly preserved, is still used, on those few occasions when the people of Molise remember its existence, by leaning against a more recently built cottage used as dressing rooms and control rooms. During the cultural evenings, the result is an unusual spectacle, capable of providing a very evocative atmosphere, especially if Greek or Roman dramas are staged.
We continue this wonderful 'first stop' and arrive in Sepino. Halfway between the Roman settlement and the fortifications of Terravecchia was a sacred area dedicated to the Samnite deities. Frequented as early as the end of the 4th century B.C., after a period of decline it returned to prominence at the end of the 2nd century B.C. with the construction of a new and more important temple. Excavations have returned many objects related to the cult of ancient religions. When these declined, in the 4th century A.D. the area continued as a Christian church.
There is no clear information as to why this area was named 'San Pietro'. It is probably connected with the Christian cult of the Saint. With reference to the pagan sanctuary area, the excavations have, on the other hand, uncovered many objects from daily life that took place within the sacred precinct. These objects and others have led to the identification of one of the deities worshipped in the sanctuary: the beautiful Mephitis. She takes the form of a young woman who protects women and assists them in their daily activities.
We will then arrive in the late afternoon at our 'bivouac' area where we will set up our first 'camp'.
Day 2:
We set off again after breakfast and aim for Santa Croce, whose toponym appears in some diplomas drawn up in the 8th century AD as Casale Sanctae Crucis. In 762, it was then assigned by the Lombard king Desiderius to the monks of Montecassino Abbey; later, after being subject to the administrative authority of Boiano, it was granted as a fief by William I to Rodolfo Alemagno, who made it his possession from 1172 to 1183. Before being part of the province of Benevento, after the Unification of Italy, it first belonged to that of Capitanata and then to that of Campobasso.
Santa Croce was one of several stationes along the roads of the old tratturi, the winter transhumance of the flocks that descended from the mountains of Abruzzo and Molise along ancient tracks.
The name tratturo first appeared during the last centuries of the Roman Empire as a phonetic deformation of the Latin word tractoria, a word that in the Codes of Theodosius (401-460) and Justinian (482-565), indicated the privilege of the free use of state-owned land and was used for transhumance shepherds. Transhumance, or the seasonal movement of flocks from summer pastures in the mountains to winter pastures on the plains, has historically constituted a very complex phenomenon that has affected various aspects of life and culture. Originating as a spontaneous migration of animals following the greener pastures, it became in the 4th century B.C. a phenomenon managed and controlled by a people: the Samnites.
Next we come to Circello, which finds the origin of its name in the oak woods that abound in the surrounding area.
The current configuration of the town was born in the Middle Ages, during the 8th century. Later, it was fortified and strengthened with surrounding walls, walkways and gates.
In the past, it was an important connection and passage artery between Molise and Apulia; in fact, this municipality is also crossed by the tratturo Pescasseroli-Candela.
The castle as a whole probably saw its construction around the 10th century and was remodelled several times in subsequent eras. Research divides this construction and the subsequent extensions and consolidation into four time intervals: the Lombard period, the Norman period, the Aragonese period and the early 19th century when the castle and ducal palace were inhabited by the Di Somma family. It should be noted that Circello Castle does not have as bastions the usual angular towers with cylindrical shapes superimposed on truncated cone bases, but a very rare quadrangular type that can rightly be considered the absolute ancestor of Renaissance bastions with spearheads, and adopted from 1530-40 in southern Italy in general.
Along the way we will then find Casalbore, whose name derives from Casali Albuli, with reference to the local white stone used in construction; it stands on the border with the province of Benevento. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, as testified by the precious archaeological finds of the Tempio Italico (V-VI century B.C.), the only known Samnite temple building in Irpinia, and the remains of the Samnite necropolis located in Località Spineto. The historical centre is characterised by several stately buildings, embellished with stone portals and windows of Gothic inspiration.
Norman Tower, Dated: 12th century. An outpost to defend the Miscano Valley. The Norman Tower represented a strategic defence and observation point for the control of commercial traffic affecting the Miscano Valley; its construction probably determined the actual birth of the ancient village of Casalbore. Around it, in later times, a more articulated architectural complex developed, defended by ramparts and characterised by the light grey colour of the typical local stone used in its construction. The structure developed around a large parade ground that was accessed through the so-called Porta Beneventana, built right into the lower part of the tower.
This door must not have been present originally, as such towers are usually characterised by having a water cistern on the ground floor and several floors divided by wooden floors. The hypothesis is further supported by the discovery of a moat at the base of the tower, which must also have been surmounted by a drawbridge. The tower also had a chimney on the first floor and toilets built into the thickness of the walls on the upper levels. In addition to the aforementioned parade ground, a smaller tower to the south-east also remains of the original fortress developed around the tower. In the 16th century, the structure was transformed by the Caracciolo family into a noble residence, adding the palace on the south side of the courtyard and three more gates.
We then come to Lucera, located in a predominantly flat area. Lucera stands on a small rise formed by three hills, Monte Albano, Monte Belvedere and Monte Sacro, thus dominating the broad plain of the Tavoliere delle Puglie, and has origins that go back to ancient times, as witnessed by some findings on Monte Albano, where traces of a settlement dating back to the Neolithic period have been found.
In the 3rd century AD. Constantine elevated it to capital of the province of Apulia. In 663, the settlement was almost completely destroyed by the Byzantines, but it returned to a period of splendour under the Swabians and the early Angevins: under the rule of Frederick II, it was equipped with imposing fortifications and, in the first half of the 13th century, the Saracens of Sicily built mosques and minarets there. The Aragonese then dominated the territory and it was under them that the historical phenomenon of transhumance began. In the early decades of the 1900s, the territory benefited from an important land reclamation project that involved the entire province of Foggia. Finally, it should be remembered that Lucera was the capital of Capitanata and Molise until 1806.
The Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is located in the heart of the town and is an example of Gothic-Angevin architecture. Built at the behest of Charles II of Anjou, it was consecrated in 1302, declared a minor basilica in 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI and a national monument in 1874. On top of the Albano Hill stands the Fortress of Lucera, a castle dating back to the 13th century, protected on three sides by sheer cliffs. The palace was built by Frederick II in 1233, while the fortress wall was built at the behest of Charles I of Anjou in 1289. There are numerous places of culture in Lucera, among them the Augustan Roman Amphitheatre, a monument from the Roman era located on the eastern outskirts of the city and whose construction dates back to the period from 27 to 1 BC.
Overnight stay in a hotel in Lucera and dinner in the town.
Day 3:
We leave after breakfast and not far away are the Monticchio Lakes, located on the south-western slopes of Mount Vulture, occupying the crater mouths of the ancient volcano. Although they communicate with each other, the lakes are different in colour: Lago Piccolo is greenish in colour, Lago Grande olive green. The lakes, both elliptical in shape, are separated by an isthmus 215 m wide.
The Small Lake has an area of 16 hectares and a perimeter of 1800 m. It has steep shores that descend to a depth of 38 m. The Great Lake with an area of 38 hectares and a perimeter of 2700 m, occupies a funnel-shaped hollow, with shallow shores extending over most of the basin, which only in the north do they dip to a depth of 36 m.
The Small Lake at an altitude of 658 m is fed by underwater springs, from where the water flows through a stream with a flow rate of 57 litres per second into the Big Lake at an altitude of 656 m. Both lakes have the highest temperature of the lakes in Italy. Plant species along the shores include oak and beech trees, in the waters water lilies. Among the fish fauna of particular protection is the Apennine bleak.
The two lakes are located within the Regional Nature Reserve of Lago Piccolo di Monticchio and are surrounded by several pine, fir, chestnut and beech forests. The green and unspoilt environment allows this area to become a popular destination, to be visited especially in the summer seasons. This destination is perfect for all those who love relaxation and healthy walks immersed in nature, but it is also perfect for all those with an adventurous spirit.
In addition, it is inevitable to visit the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo, which overlooks the Piccolo Lago from above and offers a fascinating panorama of the entire Reserve.
Monticchio is a small hamlet in the province of Potenza, Basilicata. It rises on the slopes of Mount Vulture at about 600 metres above sea level and is part of the municipalities of Rionero in Vulture and Atella; more than 130 kilometres from the famous Matera, it can be a destination for a day of leisure in the countryside. But what makes this village so special that it is one of the favourite summer destinations for Apennine tourism?
Monticchio is located in a beautiful corner of Italy. This is simply enough to make it special, and many tourists have realised this. Monticchio is one of the favourite tourist destinations in Basilicata for the Lucanians themselves, who go there in search of a cool, quiet place.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Rapolla - Dinner in a restaurant.
Day 4
We leave early after breakfast to reach Matera. This is one of the oldest cities in the world, whose territory bears witness to human settlements starting from the Palaeolithic age and continuing uninterrupted to the present day. It represents an extraordinary page written by man through the millennia of this very long history.
The original urban core developed from natural caves dug into the rock and subsequently modelled into increasingly complex structures within two large natural amphitheatres, the Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano. Matera is a city with a fascinating and complex history: a city of borders, of contrasts, of competition and fusion between different landscapes, civilisations and cultures.
From the rupestrian civilisation to those of Byzantine and oriental origin, to the advent of the Normans, the systematic attempt to reduce the rupestrian city to the rules of the culture of the European city: from the Romanesque, to the Renaissance, to the Baroque, the last eight centuries of construction and refinement of the city have attempted to shape, to overcome the natural resistance of the pre-existing rupestrian habitat, resulting in architecture and urban arrangements of particular quality and originality. Today, once again under the banner of European urban planning culture, the challenge of redevelopment, sustainable recovery, and the reconquest of lost identity are the activities that have brought this unique city back into the limelight, rightly becoming a World Heritage Site.
The Sassi of Matera
The unrepeatable architecture of the Sassi of Matera tells of man's ability to adapt perfectly to the environment and natural surroundings, skilfully using simple features such as the constant temperature of the excavated spaces, the calcarenite of the rocky bank itself for the construction of the above-ground dwellings, and the use of the slopes to control water and meteorological phenomena.
The architectural structure is made up of two systems, the immediately visible one made up of the successive stratifications of dwellings, courtyards, balconies, palaces, churches, streets, vegetable gardens and gardens, and the internal and invisible at first sight one made up of cisterns, neviere, caves, tunnels and water control systems, essential systems for the life and wealth of the community.
Overnight stay and agricamping dinner (with the possibility of rooms).
Day 5
In the morning we will visit the lake of the San Giuliano Dam, an artificial lake surrounded by a thick forest covering an area of 1,000 hectares between the territories of Matera, Miglionico and Grottole. The lake has an extension of about 8 kilometres and in 2006, the fossil of a whale 27 metres long, dating back to the Pleistocene, was found on its shores.
The reservoir was created to serve as a reservoir and was financed with funds from the Cassa Del Mezzogiorno, included in the Marshall Plan. Work to create a dam on the Bradano river lasted from 1950 to 1957 and from that moment on, the area began to attract both visitors and wildlife of all kinds. We then arrive at Metaponto, a town located in the centre of the Gulf of Taranto on the Ionian coast of Basilicata. Surrounding it are vast areas of Mediterranean scrub and picturesque pine forests that stretch down to the beaches. It is a place rich in history where one can find magnificent evidence of the Magna-Greek civilisation. Metaponto is also an ideal location for those who want to enjoy the sea and the warm southern sun.
The city, founded in the mid 7th century B.C. by Greeks from Achaia, became one of the most important colonies of Magna Graecia. Its wealth consisted mainly of a large and fertile territory, bordered by the Bradano and Basento rivers and famous for its cereal production (witnessed by the ear symbol on the city's coinage).
Location of The King's Musketeers: Besides the beautiful Matera, many other locations were chosen for filming.
Montescaglioso: It is also called the city of monasteries, considering the presence of no less than four large monastic complexes, among which the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo stands out.
Grottole: Here nature reigns supreme, with an extension of 11,000 hectares and a double river delimitation, given by the Basento and Bradano rivers
Pietrapertosa: An unmissable stop for those who want to get to know the Lucanian territory. It is the highest municipality in Basilicata.
In fact, it lies at an average altitude of 1,088 metres above sea level and forms the Lucanian Dolomites Veronesi's cameras then lingered on the spectacular panorama of the gullies, generated by soil erosion, and the beauty of the Gallipolo Cognato Park. Other filming took place near Mount Volture, in Viggiano in the Val d'Agri and around Marsico Vetere and Il Marsico Nuovo.
Overnight stay at a campsite by the sea in Metaponto.
Day 6
Today we visit the Archaeological Park of Metapontum with the remains of what has been saved from the continuous spoliation of the Greek polis in the past. The National Museum of Metapontum with artefacts from prehistoric times to late antiquity and the extra-urban Temple of Hera, better known as the Tavole Palatine, offer the visitor the opportunity to learn about the culture of Magna Graecia. The interest of the Greek colonists is also directed towards the entire surrounding area, the chora, which is extremely fertile and immediately becomes the object of work to create the necessary infrastructure, and the erection of the extra-urban sanctuaries that represent the most conspicuous signs of the presence of these new peoples and mark the boundaries of the polis of Metapontum. The most important of these sanctuaries, the only one still standing, is the one known as the Tavole Palatine, an imposing temple with a Doric-type colonnade, 12 columns on the long side and 6 on the short side, built in the late 6th century B.C. and located near a sacred spring as was the custom in the Greek world.
The temple dedicated to Hera, protector of the borders, has 15 columns in the elevation. In the agora, the manteion dedicated to Apollo and the imposing hemicycle theatre structure with stone tiers of seats, which replaced the archaic circular structure known as the ekklesiasterion, intended to host city assemblies, during the second half of the 4th century BC, stand out. The lack of a hillside imposed the invention of an artificial relief maintained by a retaining wall with entrances to the upper part of the tiers. The Theatre of Metapontum is unique, the architectural model anticipating the for ms of the future Roman amphitheatre. Near the theatre there are also the remains of the temple dedicated to Zeus Agoraios, protector of the agora. On the opposite side of the present access road are the remains of the Roman castrum used during the 3rd century BC. The handover of the city by the Metapontines to Hannibal in 212 B.C. and the latter's retreat into Bruttium marked the beginning of an irreversible demographic and economic crisis for Metapontum; the sacred buildings were reduced to ruins and became quarries to produce lime or recover building materials.
On the route we will find Craco, the splendid 'ghost town' of Basilicata, in the province of Matera, which to those who observe it in the distance looks like a sculpture of medieval origins surrounded by the 'Calanchi'.
What is now one of the unmissable villages of Lucanian land, for its suggestiveness and beauty, was destroyed in 1963 by a landslide that forced the local population to abandon the village and take refuge in the new municipality of Craco Peschiera.
All that remains of the old village are the stone houses clinging to the rock, and among them the Norman tower stands out in a dominant position with respect to the old village. Inside old Craco, you still seem to hear the voices of the people who inhabited it, the tolling of the bells of the churches that enlivened it and which, to look at them, destroyed and outraged by the landslide, have nevertheless maintained their history intact.
To see it from the outside, Craco brings to mind settings from western films because of its scenic beauty, and it is precisely the silver screen that has been able to grasp its suggestiveness to the point that directors of national and international fame have shot their films among its ruins. Films set in Craco include King David (1985) by Bruce Beresford, La Luca (1996) by Gabriele Lavia, Terra Bruciata (1999) by Fabio Segatori, up to The Passion (2004) by Mel Gibson, who shot the scene of the hanging of Judas right here.
We then arrive at Castelmezzano in the Lucanian Dolomites. "A 'landscape town' for its rare beauty included in the 'Most Beautiful Villages in Italy', Castelmezzano is one of the villages in the Gallipoli Cognato and Piccole Dolomiti Lucane Regional Park.
To see it in the distance, Castelmezzano, so small and graceful, gives one the feeling of entering a fairytale, whose protagonists are the Golden Eagle and the Owl, the Great Mother, the Anvil and the Lion's Mouth. Only the names are borrowed from fantasy, because the sculptures of the huge sandstone boulders, which over time have been moulded by the play of wind and rain, until they take on such shapes, really exist!
Guarding this jewel of medieval structure, made up of steep stairs, narrow alleys, houses clinging to the rock, are the Piccole Dolomiti Lucane (Small Lucanian Dolomites), which, the higher you climb, following dedicated paths, the more they reveal an enchanting landscape.
It is from here that one can experience the unique emotion of the 'Flight of the Angel'. It is an unforgettable emotion to travel almost a kilometre and a half flying at a height of over 1,000 metres in the mountains of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa. Suspended between heaven and earth in the enchanting setting of the Lucanian Dolomites, harnessed in total safety, you will launch yourself into the void and enjoy the enchanting landscape of the Lucanian Dolomites as never before, alone or in pairs, until you reach the nearby Pietrapertosa. The fairytale, in Castelmezzano, continues with an unusual 'marriage', that between the trees...
Arrival in Potenza in the evening, overnight stay in a hotel and final dinner with farewells. Tomorrow morning some may return and others will visit the city.
Day 7
After breakfast, visit the city of Potenza, which, at 819 m above sea level, is the highest regional capital in peninsular Italy.
It rises along an Apennine ridge to the left of the Basento river and is enclosed by a cordillera of very suggestive mountains, the Rifreddo, the Sellata, and the Lucanian Dolomites, where unspoilt nature is a strong tourist attraction.
At first glance, the urban agglomeration of the town appears sober and modern with its curtain of buildings, built in recent decades, descending to the valley and the northern area. Behind them, the ancient heart of the city opens up, rich in history and fascinating millenary evidence. The ancient historical centre is perched in the upper part of the city, which is also accessible via the escalators with which Potenza is equipped. The heart of the city, which still preserves precious evidence of the medieval walls and entrance gates, is marked by Piazza Mario Pagano, overlooked by the theatre dedicated to the Lucanian musician Francesco Stabile, a jewel of neo-classical architecture whose lines are reminiscent of the San Carlo theatre in Naples, and by the sinuous and narrow Via Pretoria, the city's 'living room', as the people of Potenza like to call it, a favourite place for meetings and evening strolls. The small alleys, corners and slarghi, numerous in the city, allow the curious visitor to come across small shops and prestigious historical buildings, to recognise the signs of a thousand-year history marked by the stubbornness of the people of Potenza to rebuild the city despite the numerous earthquakes that destroyed it several times.
The main local specialities are 'gnummarieddi': rolls of animal entrails, soppressata, a traditional food product, and the famous lucanica, a type of sausage that has become, in many northern Italian dialects, luganega. One of the typical ingredients of Lucanian cuisine, especially in Val d'Agri, is horseradish, which is grated on homemade pasta or used as an ingredient in 'rafanata': an omelette prepared with this type of root. Another characteristic speciality of the region are the 'cruschi' (crispy) peppers. Dried red peppers that are blanched in olive oil, often accompanied by salt cod or used as a condiment in pasta. Particularly well-known are the Senise peppers that have obtained the PGI mark.
Given the nature of the itinerary, there may also be significant changes to the programme/route due to weather events, safety problems, closed roads and revocation of permits. In these cases, Desartica will implement the necessary route changes in agreement with the local authorities, agreeing with them the possible new route, always giving priority to the safety of the Participants.
