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Stemma di Terranova di Pollino

Basilicata · Potenza

Terranova di Pollino

At 926 meters on the Lucanian side of the Pollino, the gateway into Italy's largest national park, home of the Sarmento red potato.

Known for

  • POLLINO GATEWAY

    Lucanian-side entrance to Italy's largest national park, trails climbing to the loricato pines of Serra di Crispo at 2,053 meters.

  • PATATA ROSSA

    Red-skinned firm-fleshed potato of the Sarmento valley grown at 800 meters, Slow Food Presidium, the village's flagship product.

  • LUNA ROSSA

    Michelin-listed restaurant of Federico Valicenti, thirty-year anchor of the contemporary Lucanian peasant kitchen tradition.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

  • J8°
  • F10°
  • M11°
  • A14°
  • M19°
  • J25°
  • J29°
  • A28°
  • S23°
  • O19°
  • N13°
  • D10°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

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

The festa: Francesco da Paola, 2 April

Why come

Terranova di Pollino sits at 926 meters on the Lucanian side of the Parco Nazionale del Pollino, Italy's largest national park at 192,000 hectares straddling Basilicata and Calabria. A thousand people live in the stone village above the Sarmento valley, in the territory locals call the gate of the park. The land around the village rises into the Bosco Magnano and the Bosco di Chiaromonte, beech and Bosnian pine forest that holds the symbolic tree of the park, the loricato pine, on the higher ridges above.

Local cuisine is mountain cuisine: hand-rolled pasta, lamb, pecorino, porcini in autumn. The patata rossa di Terranova, a red-skinned firm-fleshed variety grown at 800 meters, has Slow Food Presidium recognition and is the village's flagship product. Luna Rossa, the Michelin-listed restaurant of Federico Valicenti, has anchored the contemporary Lucanian peasant kitchen here for thirty years.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Terranova di Pollino’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

How to get there

From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 3 hours by car.

Lamezia / Reggio (SUF) is about 3h 20m away.

By car from the centre of Salerno 2h 50m, Bari 3 hours or Naples 3h 33m.

Terranova di Pollino — photo 1
Terranova di Pollino — photo 2

What to see

  • Parco Nazionale del Pollino

    Italy's largest national park at 192,000 hectares, Terranova is one of the principal Basilicata-side entrance villages with trailheads from the centro.

  • Serra di Crispo

    Ridge above the village at 2,053 meters known as the Garden of the Gods for its stand of loricato pines, the symbol tree of the park.

  • Centro storico

    Stone-built mountain village at 926 meters with narrow ascending lanes, organised around the Chiesa Madre and the small piazze of the upper streets.

  • Chiesa Madre

    Mother church of the village in the centro storico, principal religious building of the Sarmento valley community.

  • Bosco Magnano

    Beech and turkey oak forest east of the village, the most accessible deep-park walk from Terranova with marked routes to the Frido river.

The slow-trip planner

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We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Luna RossaTrattoria

    Luna Rossa holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and two Gambero Rosso prawns.

Living here

  • Population 1,018
  • Very remotei
  • Pharmacy: none mapped
  • Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
  • Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 3 h 6 min drive
  • Regional capital Potenza, 2 h 44 min drive

Common questions

What is Terranova di Pollino known for?
At 926 meters on the Lucanian side of the Pollino, the gateway into Italy's largest national park, home of the Sarmento red potato.
Where is Terranova di Pollino?
Terranova di Pollino is a comune in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata.
What is the nearest airport to Terranova di Pollino?
Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 3 hours by car.
How long is the drive from Salerno to Terranova di Pollino?
About 2h 50m by car.
When is the best time to visit Terranova di Pollino?
Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Terranova di Pollino?
The town keeps its patron saint's day: Francesco da Paola, 2 April.
Which other towns are like Terranova di Pollino?
Fiumalbo, Aritzo and Fanano.
How many people live in Terranova di Pollino?
1,018 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

  • Elevation: 926 m
  • Population: 1,018
  • Surface area: 113.07 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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