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00 Pietrapertosa
Stemma di Pietrapertosa

Basilicata · Potenza

Pietrapertosa

Basilicata's highest commune at 1,088 meters, built into the Lucanian Dolomites with a Saracen rock-cut fortress and a 1,400-meter zipline to Castelmezzano.

Best time
Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
By car
2 h 6 min from Salerno
Population
890

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.

When to visit

Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

  • J7°
  • F9°
  • M9°
  • A13°
  • M18°
  • J24°
  • J28°
  • A27°
  • S22°
  • O18°
  • N12°
  • D8°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Giacomo il Maggiore, 25 July

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.

The Sunday 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 every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Pietrapertosa comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Pietrapertosa in our articles

How to get there

From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2h 29m by car.

Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 2h 50m away.

By car from the centre of Salerno 2 hours, Bari 2h 32m or Naples 2h 50m.

Pietrapertosa, photo 1
Pietrapertosa, photo 2

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.

  • Parco Regionale Gallipoli Cognato

    Regional park covering the Lucanian Dolomites and the forest extending east to Accettura, with hiking trails on the ridges above the village.

The slow-trip planner

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Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

  • Sapori D'autunnofood festival

    usually held across October and November. eventiesagre.it

Living here

  • Population 890
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy: none mapped
  • Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
  • Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 2 h 29 min drive
  • Regional capital Potenza, 59 min drive

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 1,400-meter zipline 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?
Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2h 29m by car.
How long is the drive from Salerno to Pietrapertosa?
About 2 hours 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.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Pietrapertosa?
Yes. Sapori D'autunno. October is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Pietrapertosa?
Campo di Giove, Fenestrelle and Gressoney-Saint-Jean.
How many people live in Pietrapertosa?
890 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 1088 m
  • Population: 890
  • 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.

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