Basilicata · Potenza
Pietrapertosa
Basilicata's highest commune at 1,088 meters, built into the Lucanian Dolomites with a Saracen rock-cut fortress and a zipline of about 1.4 km to Castelmezzano.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pietrapertosa is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 2 h 6 min from Salerno
- Population
- 855
- J7°
- F9°
- M9°
- A13°
- M18°
- J24°
- J28°
- A27°
- S22°
- O18°
- N12°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Pietrapertosa sits at 1,088 meters, the highest commune in Basilicata, built directly into the sandstone teeth of the Piccole Dolomiti Lucane inside the Parco Regionale Gallipoli Cognato. The village is so wedded to the rock that several houses share a wall with the cliff. In the tenth century the fortified settlement was taken by a Saracen band led by a Greek convert to Islam named Luca, who used it as a raiding base across the surrounding valleys until the Catapan of Byzantium pushed him out.
The Arabata quarter, the warren of stone houses at the top of the village, still carries his name. The Castello Saraceno, partly cut into living rock, was later rebuilt by the Normans and Swabians. Pietrapertosa shares its setting with Castelmezzano on the opposite ridge, seven kilometers away, and the two villages are linked by the Volo dell'Angelo, a steel cable that carries passengers between them at speeds touching 120 kilometers per hour. The Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore in the centro preserves its fifteenth-century Romanesque structure.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 2 h 29 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 50 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 2 h 6 min, Bari 2 h 32 min or Naples 2 h 50 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Saraceno
Fortress cut into the sandstone of the Lucanian Dolomites, used by Saracens under Luca in the tenth century, rebuilt by the Normans.
Rione Arabata
Upper quarter of stone houses tucked into the rock, named for the tenth-century Saracen occupation, the oldest section of the village.
Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore
Fifteenth-century mother church in the centro of Pietrapertosa, the main parish of the village, with a well-preserved Romanesque structure.
Dolomiti Lucane
Sandstone peaks reaching 1,455 meters, the geological signature of the village and the eastern edge of the Gallipoli Cognato park.
Volo dell'Angelo
Steel-cable zipline between Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano, two lines, 1,415 and 1,452 meters long, at speeds up to 120 km/h.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pietrapertosa is at the end of the road.
- A village of 855. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Potenza, is 58 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Potenza, a city of 63,864, is 59 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 855, down 18.3% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Potenza, 59 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Marsicovetere, 26 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €465 to €560 per m² to buy, €1.60 to €2.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 95% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Bari airport (BRI), 2 h 29 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Potenza, 59 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Argentina, against 9% across Italy. There are 342 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 48% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Potenza province ranks 84th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Marsicovetere, 26 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Potenza, 27 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 335 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 157 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.86% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.5% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Basilicata spends about €1,890 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €459 a year for water, on the Basilicata average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 10% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
DOLOMITI LUCANE
Sandstone teeth of the Piccole Dolomiti Lucane, in which the village is built; the highest commune in Basilicata at 1,088 meters.
ARABATA
Upper quarter and fortress carved into rock, named for the tenth-century Saracen band under Luca, the Greek convert to Islam.
VOLO DELL'ANGELO
Zipline linking Pietrapertosa to Castelmezzano across the gorge, two lines over 1,400 meters long, reaching 120 km/h.
CANESTRATO DI MOLITERNO
The commune lies inside the Canestrato di Moliterno IGP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Pietrapertosa known for?
- Basilicata's highest commune at 1,088 meters, built into the Lucanian Dolomites with a Saracen rock-cut fortress and a zipline of about 1.4 km to Castelmezzano.
- Where is Pietrapertosa?
- Pietrapertosa is a comune in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata, at 1088 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pietrapertosa?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bari (BRI), about 2 h 29 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Pietrapertosa?
- About 2 h 6 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pietrapertosa?
- Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pietrapertosa?
- Campo di Giove, Fenestrelle and Gressoney-Saint-Jean.
- How many people live in Pietrapertosa?
- 855 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pietrapertosa a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pietrapertosa is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Potenza, is 58 min away. The nearest city, Potenza, is 59 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Marsicovetere, 26 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 95% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 1088 m
- Population: 855
- Surface area: 67.7 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Pietrapertosa appears in
- The best towns inside a nature park in BasilicataBasilicatainside a park6 towns · smallest 696 residents
- The 7 prettiest villages in the province of PotenzaPotenza provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 508 residents
- The best high-altitude villages in the province of PotenzaPotenza provinceabove 800 m7 towns · smallest 720 residents
- The 8 prettiest small villages in BasilicataBasilicataprettiest villagessmall8 towns · smallest 508 residents
Similar
Towns like Pietrapertosa
What all six share with Pietrapertosa: high in the mountains · under 1,000 people
Campo di Giove
Province: L'Aquila
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Fenestrelle
Province: Torino
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Gressoney-Saint-Jean
Province: Aosta Valley
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
La Thuile
Province: Aosta Valley
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Macugnaga
Province: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Monteviasco
Province: Varese
The letter
Pietrapertosa is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Pietrapertosa comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 363 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.