Potenza (Italy) - Potenza (Italia)

Power (Puténzë in Potentino dialect) is the capital of the Basilicata.

To know

It is known as "Vertical city"for its particular urban structure, which presents the historic center located on the highest hill and the remaining neighborhoods located at gradually lower altitudes. It is also known as"City of a hundred stairs" or "City of stairs", due to its system of ancient and modern stairs, which connects the various parts of the urban center: the city has, in fact, the largest escalator system for public transport in Europe and the second in the world after that of Tokyo.

On 30 September 2019 Potenza was nominated European city of sport for the year 2021, together with Rieti, Siena is Terni.

Although traditionally the tourism sector is not the predominant one in the city, in the second half of the 2010s there is a growing number of initiatives to promote and enhance its tourist potential as well as an increase in tourist numbers both in Potenza and in the surrounding municipalities.

Geographical notes

Potenza is the regional capital located at the highest altitude in Italy and it is the second for altitude among the provincial capitals after Enna.

The city rises in the high Basento valley, along an Apennine ridge north of the Lucanian Dolomites enclosed by various higher mountains, including i Li Foj Mountains, therefore Potenza is located in an area of ​​high seismicity.

The more modern districts, on the other hand, rise further down, up to the course of the Basento river, whose riverbed has been heavily man-made since the second half of the twentieth century.

When to go

The climate is Mediterranean and mountain, therefore cold and snowy in winter, warm and dry in summer. January is statistically the coldest month and the average temperature is 3.5 ° C, while July and August are the hottest months with an average temperature of 20 ° C.

Background

The origin of the city is certainly ancient, but uncertain. The area of ​​the city has been inhabited since the seventh century BC. from the ancient indigenous people of the gods Peuketiantes. Between the 5th and 4th centuries BC the settlement of the Lucanians in the area took place, who gradually established themselves as the dominant ethnic group of the territory and who probably founded the city. Relations with Rome over the centuries they have been fluctuating from allies to enemies, who nevertheless built important communication routes between the two cities. The first churches were built around 500 AD. After the decline of the Roman Empire, many looters and conquerors followed one another who influenced the customs. The Norman period, for example, was rich in important events for Potenza. Since the early twelfth century the city was of particular importance as a bishopric: it was in fact the seat of the Crusaders leaving for the Middle East. Potenza found a new administrative continuity only with the advent of the Aragonese kings on the throne of the Kingdom of Naples, with the appointment as Count of Innico de Guevara in 1435. The Guevara dynasty will govern the city continuously for 160 years, expressing six counts of Potenza and giving life to a vast program of military, religious and civil public works, as well as establishing their personal and affective headquarters there. In 1799, following the French conquest of the Kingdom of Naples by General Championnet, Potenza was, after Naples, the city of the Kingdom where the Jacobin revolution emerged with more force. After a few years of restoration of the Bourbon regime, just 1806 marked a turning point in the history of the city and of the South of Italy.Italy: the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte again conquered the Kingdom of Naples, this time in a complete way, and the new rulers started a process of civil, economic and social modernization of the whole territory, which also involved Potenza in an incisive way. In the same 1806, in fact, the new government of Giuseppe Bonaparte decided to move the capital of the province of Basilicata from Matera in Potenza, both for reasons of territorial and administrative reorganization of the entire province, given that the new capital was closer and better connected to Naples, thus making it less peripheral, and therefore better governable. Potenza was confirmed as the capital city of Basilicata also at the end of the Napoleonic period. After the war, with the reconstruction of the devastation caused by the conflict and the affirmation of the economic boom, the urban expansion and growth of new poles of civil and social development also began for Potenza.

How to orient yourself

The entire plateau of the historic center is crossed by the ancient one Via Pretoria, whose name and origin refer to the time of Silla and the civil wars against Mario, according to the historian Emmanuele Viggiano, when he won the latter and reduced six of the Lucanian cities to Roman military colonies, including Potenza. In each of these cities Silla would establish the Praetorium and the Praetorian camp. Therefore there must have been a road connection between the Roman camp and their Command, which according to Roman tradition was called via Pretoria. [127] This street, which actually served as a major decumanus, extends throughout the historic center starting from Largo di Portasalza up to Torre Guevara.

Mario Pagano Square is the main square of the city, commonly called Prefecture Square since it houses the nineteenth-century palace of the Prefecture, seat of the Prefect and the provincial offices. The works for the construction of Piazza Mario Pagano began in 1839 by the will of the superintendent Winspeare, with the demolition of the houses with petticoats inhabited by peasants and artisans, but were only completed between 1842 and 1847 by the superintendent Francesco Benzo , Duke of Verdura. Originally called market Square, since the Sunday market was held there, it was officially called piazza dell'Intendenza, given that the government building, the seat of the intendant, faced it Prefecture square after the unification of Italy and the replacement of the intendant with the prefect. Around 1870 it was named after Mario Pagano and remained unchanged until the renovation in 2012 by the architect Gae Aulenti.

The city center, located on a long and narrow plateau at 819 meters above sea level, revolves around Matteotti Square, overlooked by some of the most architecturally interesting mansions in the city. Piazza Matteotti, which was formerly called Seat square, took the name of piazza del Fascio during the Fascist period and its current name after 1944. Probably dating back to its original layout at the Angevin era, it housed the seat of the University where the people gathered for assemblies. Shops and taverns overlooked the square and the food market was held there by royal decree of 1810. On the southern side, where the temple of San Gerardo stands, there were the chapel of San Domenico with the nearby tower, the rooms of the neviera for the collection of snow, the door and the alley of the Beccheria, where the slaughter of animals took place and the sale of meat. On the occasion of the feast of the patron saint of the city, the sound box was raised in the square for the performances of the musical band.

How to get

By car

The urban area of ​​Potenza is served by two main arteries: the Potenza-Sicignano, which connects the city with the Mediterranean motorway, and the SS 658 which connects Potenza and Melfi. The last kilometers of the motorway junction also act as a ring road for the city in the South area, with the Potenza Ovest, Laurenzana, Potenza Centro, Bucaletto and Potenza Est exits. The North Ring Road instead connects the Macchia Romana hospital area to the Tiera area, with graft on Potenza-Melfi.

From Power there Basentana connects to Matera in just over an hour.

On the train

Potenza is served by the Frecciarossa connection Milan-Taranto as well as from regional lines Salerno-Taranto and Foggia-Power managed by RFI. The city is also served by the Appulo Lucane railways with the line Altamura-Avigliano-Power, which acts as a link with the province of Bari and with the municipalities to the north-east of the capital.

The stations managed by RFI in the city are:

• Central Power Station, Piazzale Guglielmo Marconi. 
• Potenza University Station, Via La Marmora (Near the Lucanian University). 
• Potenza Superiore station, Piazzale Istria. 
• Potenza Macchia Romana station, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano (Near the San Carlo Hospital). 

How to get around

By public transport

Urban public transport serves both the center and the peripheral districts via bus lines, as well as serving as a link with the countryside and districts located outside the main urban core, through the rural lines.

What see

Religious architectures

The historic center of Potenza is full of religious buildings dating back mainly to the Middle Ages, some of them probably built on pre-existing early Christian churches. Below is the list of the main religious buildings of historical, artistic and architectural interest present in the ancient part of the city.

• 40.64012415.8038411 Cathedral of San Gerardo. It is the main church in the historic center; located in Largo Duomo, it dates back to the 13th century and was first dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption and then to Gerardo della Porta who became the patron saint of the city. In fact, the church preserves the remains of the patron saint, a silver and crystal urn with the relics of the saint, as well as the wooden statue of the saint from the 15th century. The cathedral should also rise on the site of a previous sacred construction, given that during the archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s, underground remains of mosaic fragments of polychrome flooring dating back to the 4th or 5th century were discovered. Rebuilt by a pupil of Vanvitelli at the end of the 18th century at the behest of Bishop Andrea Serrao, the cathedral changed radically and passed from a Romanesque basilica to a clearly neoclassical building. Important elements are the 13th century stone facade, rebuilt between 1197 and 1220 by Bishop Bartolomeo, the high altar in marble with polychrome inlays from the 18th century and a 15th century wooden crucifix, as well as a marble chapel dedicated to the saint. Father built in the seventeenth century.  
• 40.63787615.8004232 Church of San Michele Arcangelo. Located near the western end of via Pretoria, it is a typical example of a Romanesque style church. Its presence is attested for the first time in 1178, but from archaeological findings the original structure of the building, belonging to a previous structure of the late Roman period, dates back to the 5th century. It has a bell tower and a structure with three naves, inside there are works of valuable artistic value among which the painting of the Annunciation of 1612 made by Pietrafesa, a fresco by Madonna and Child between Saints Peter and Paul by the Flemish artist Dirk Hendricksz dating back to the sixteenth century and a wooden crucifix from the seventeenth century.  
• 40.63965915.8059753 Church of the Holy Trinity. Located near Piazza Mario Pagano, in the direction of the Duomo, it is attested since 1178. It was damaged by the earthquake of 1857 and was rebuilt with a different plan than the original one, with a single nave with various chapels, a semicircular apse and a coffered ceiling.  
• 40.63871615.801124 Church and convent of San Francesco. Next to the Palazzo della Prefettura there is the church of San Francesco with an adjoining convent, built in 1274. It has a portal with carved fourteenth-century wooden shutters and a bell tower built from the fifteenth century. Inside there is the Renaissance-style tomb of the nobleman Paride De Grassis, as well as the remains of a fresco with a Byzantine style Madonna from the 13th century and The pity of Pietrafesa.  
• 40.63860315.8062925 Chapel of Blessed Bonaventura, Vicolo Beato Bonaventura. Dedicated to the Franciscan friar Bonaventura da Potenza who was beatified in 1775, it is located in the alley of the same name and was originally the birthplace of the blessed. It has a portal of considerable artistic importance in limestone, in the center of which we find two heads of cherubs surmounted by a Franciscan coat of arms. Inside a single room divided into two small rooms there are various portraits, including one by Michele Busciolano from 1907 which represents the ecstasy of the blessed.  
• 40.63672515.7986546 Church of Santa Lucia. It is located on the northern edge of the historic center and was built before 1200; it consists of a single nave and houses a seventeenth-century statue of Santa Lucia, some paintings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and a fifteenth-century stoup from the church of Santa Maria del Sepolcro.  
• 40.63944315.8075597 Monastery of San Luca. It currently houses the carabinieri barracks and is located at the end of via Pretoria in the direction of the Guevara Tower. Initially entrusted to the Cisternine nuns of the Benedictine order, it was the only monastery of women only in the city and later passed to the Poor Clares.  
• 40.63988715.802678 Church of Maria Santissima Annunziata of Loreto. The church dedicated to the Madonna di Loreto is located outside the perimeter of the ancient walls, just after Porta San Giovanni. It has small dimensions and a structure that has remained unchanged over the centuries, but characterized by many restorations due to the many earthquakes. In the church there is a painting of 1824 by the painter Buonadonna from Potenza portraying the Annunciation.  

In smaller numbers, there are churches of historical and artistic importance also outside the city center, listed below

• 40.64523715.802469 Church of Santa Maria del Sepolcro. Located in the Santa Maria district, immediately downstream from the historic center, it was built between the 13th and 17th centuries by the Knights of the Templar Order on the initiative of the Count of Santa Sofia on the return of the third crusade in 1191; in fact there are many similarities with the Mother Church of Ripacandida which bears the same title. The hamlet of the Holy Sepulcher was built in this position north of the city, right at the intersection of the Herculea and Appia roads, which were traveled by pilgrims heading to the Holy Land. The church houses valuable paintings and on the right wall there is the monumental Baroque altar of the relic of the Precious Blood of Christ.  
• 40.64142915.81166310 Church of San Rocco. Neoclassical style building, located near the ancient cemetery, it was built in the same place as the previous church dedicated to the same saint, which was destroyed in 1832. It has various statues both inside and outside, including two valuable artifacts. in wood depicting San Vito and San Rocco, carved in the mid-nineteenth century by Michele Busciolano; in the church there is also a funerary stele of Roman origin, dated between the 1st and 2nd centuries.  
• 40.64943215.82679511 Church of Sant'Antonio la Macchia. A cult building located in the district dedicated to the saint of the same name, within a city park. Dating back to 1530, it was entirely rebuilt in the second half of the 20th century.  

Military architectures

The historic center of the city, starting from the Middle Ages, was protected by a wall, which included six access gates, and by the presence of a castle, which also served as an observation point on the underlying Basento valley. The remains of these fortifications are the remaining city gates and the Guevara Tower.

• Doors of Power. Being part of the city fortification system, they guaranteed access to the ancient part of Potenza in medieval times. Of the six ancient gates, only three remain, namely Porta San Giovanni in via Caserma Lucana, Porta San Luca in via Manhes and Porta San Gerardo in largo Duomo; the other three, namely Porta Salza, Porta Mendola and Porta Trinità, were demolished during the public works carried out for the modernization of the city, which began in 1806.  
• 40.64023715.81009712 Guevara Tower. In Piazza Beato Bonaventura, at the eastern end of the historic center, you can admire the only remnant of the ancient castle of the city. The cylindrical building, in a dominant position with respect to the Basento valley, was probably built before the rest of the castle, which was probably built by the Lombards around the year 1000 and incorporated the Tower inside. The last owners, namely Carlo Loffredo and Beatrice Guevara, donated the entire building to the Capuchin friars with the exception of the Tower itself. Later the castle was used as a lazaret, with a chapel dedicated to San Carlo inside: it thus became the seat of the hospital of the same name until 1935, when the hospital moved to a more modern structure. In the sixties the demolition of the castle was ordered to make way for a school building, allowing only the tower to be saved.  

Other

• 40.64633815.78592213 Roman villa of Malvaccaro, Via Parigi, 36, ☎ 39 0971 415866. The Roman villa of Malvaccaro is an archaeological site of significant interest located in the modern district of Poggio Tre Galli. Found in the mid-eighties of the twentieth century, it is an ancient villa dating back to the post-Constantinian age, which includes five rooms with mosaics gravitating around an apsidal hall, with mosaic art dating back to at least the third century. The perimeter walls to the north-west and north-east and other structures to the south have been found of the villa. 
• Lucanian farm. In 2008 a housing complex was found near via del Gallitello, located at the confluence of the homonymous torrent with the Basento river, which appears to be the most important site ever discovered in the urban area of ​​Potenza. It would be an ancient farm functional to the agricultural exploitation of the area; the examination of the ceramic artefacts and the other artifacts found suggests a dating between the end of the 4th and the first decades of the 3rd century BC, therefore to be related to the settlement system of the Lucanians at a time prior to the Romanization of the territory. At the state of the investigations, this settlement would seem to develop in at least six rectangular rooms, of which the perimeter walls are partially preserved, occupying an area of ​​about three hundred square meters. The complex is still being excavated, under the scientific direction of the superintendence for archaeological heritage of the Basilicata. 
• 40.64371615.80429114 Municipal Villa of Santa Maria. One of the most important parks is the historic municipal villa which takes its name from the Santa Maria district of the same name. It was born as Experimental agricultural garden in 1823 following the decree of Joachim Murat of 1810, according to which every province of the Kingdom of Naples it had to have an Agricultural Society with its agricultural garden, to encourage the study and development of the primary sector, in particular botany. The activities relating to the experimental garden stopped with theItaly, due to the closure of the Agricultural Society and the structure was used as a municipal villa. Currently the area hosts various species of conifers, broad-leaved trees, ornamental shrubs and small trees, as well as facilities for the practice of outdoor sports. 
• 40.63377415.79800215 Montereale Park, Via Emanuele Viggiani. It stands on the hill overlooking the plateau of the city center and is another park of significant historical interest: built in 1934, it was included in the general inventory of the "Census of historical gardens of Basilicata". Inside there is a swimming pool, a bowling green, a dance floor and a well-equipped sports hall. In the center of the park there is a war memorial. 
• 40.63930715.80206216 Villa of the Prefect. Located in the historic center, it is a green area annexed to the Palazzo della Prefettura. Initially belonging to the monastery of the conventual fathers of San Francesco, used in the eighteenth century for purely agricultural purposes, the villa itself was built only in the nineteenth century. Characterized by terraces connected by walkways and balustraded stairways, with dense and luxuriant vegetation, in 1934 it was transformed following the style of Italian Renaissance gardens. After years of closure for maintenance, it was reopened in 2017 thanks to an initiative promoted by some civic associations. 
• 40.63082315.80766417 Basento River Park, Route of Chemistry. Green area bordered by the San Vito bridge and the Musmeci bridge, it includes the Basento riverfront; was built in 2018 following the redevelopment of the area close to the main waterway of the city. 
• 40.64964815.79784318 Baden-Powell Park. Park created in 1955 at the behest of the Health Department, which wanted to equip the space in front of the hospital in the area with a green area. On 17 July 2002 it was named after Robert Baden-Powell, on the initiative of the Scouts of Potenza. The area hosts various kinds of events throughout the year, including cultural, social, sporting and recreational events. With an area of ​​approximately 25,800 square meters, it is one of the largest parks available to citizens. 
• 40.63575815.80273719 Seminary park, Via G. Marconi, 104, ☎ 39 0971 53414, fax: 39 0971 53414, @[email protected]. Green area adjacent to the Pontifical Regional Seminary, dating back to 1616. It was enlarged and completed in the second half of the same century by the conventual bishop Bonaventura Claverio. 
• 40.65757815.80603220 Elisa Claps Park, Via delle Medaglie Olimpiche, 40. Dedicated to the memory of Elisa Claps, a teenager from Potenza who died on 12 September 1993, a victim of murder. The park is equipped for outdoor gymnastic activities and includes a trekking path. 
• 40.62071515.81655421 Rossellino Park. Green lung located in the locality of the same name on the southern outskirts of the city, inside which is the Palapergola sports hall. 
• 40.65017115.82705222 Park of Sant'Antonio La Macchia, Via Parco Sant'Antonio la Macchia, 25 / A. Located on the eastern outskirts of the city, it takes its name from the presence of a church dedicated to the saint of the same name. In the past it also housed a monastery of the Capuchin order, who settled there in 1530. 
• 40.64454615.78949623 United Europe Park, Piazzale Bucarest, 17. Recently built, it is included in the populous district of Poggio Tre Galli. It is equipped with a cycle path and a pedestrian path accessible to people with reduced mobility. 
• 40.64396115.78752524 Roots Park, Piazzale Budapest, 3. Green area created in 2018 within the modern district of Poggio Tre Galli, includes a bike park and an area dedicated to dog walking. 
• Tre Fontane Park. Park created in 2009 as part of an urban redevelopment project in the Lucania, Parco tre Fontane and Francioso districts. 
• 40.63982415.80613125 ^{[link not working]}National Archaeological Museum of Basilicata (Dinu Adamesteanu Museum) (In the premises of Palazzo Loffredo), @[email protected]. It is the main museum institution of the city, dedicated to the memory of the archaeologist Dinu Adameșteanu. There are archaeological finds from the Italic populations of pre-Roman Lucania, as well as finds from the Roman colonies of Potentia, Grumentum and Venusia.  
• 40.64901415.80222126 Provincial Archaeological Museum, @[email protected]. The second archaeological museum of the city contains prehistoric, protohistoric and early Iron Age finds, as well as a collection of objects dating back to the period between the eighth and fifth centuries BC.  
• 40.6471115.8029527 Provincial Art Gallery. It houses sculptures and paintings owned by the Provincial Administration, including the Crucifixion and the Deposition by the artists Antonio and Costantino Stabile.  
• 40.64027415.80788328 ^{[link not working]}Diocesan Museum (In the historic center), @[email protected]. It houses historical and artistic artifacts owned by the diocese of Potenza, among which the sacred objects made by Neapolitan master craftsmen between the 16th and 19th centuries stand out.  
• 40.63195215.81260729 Museum of contemporary figurative art, Via della Chimica, 115, ☎ 39 097122586. Dedicated to the figurative art of the first half of the twentieth century, it houses about 450 paintings and sculptures by prestigious Lucanian, Italian and foreign artists. The works are exhibited, cyclically, in the context of temporary themed exhibitions. 

Events and parties

• Parade of the Turks. 29/30 May. Costume parade in which the legendary intervention of San Gerardo is represented to save the city from the invasion of the Turks, an event devoid of historical truthfulness but which is part of the local folklore. In the parade generally, in addition to being represented San Gerardo, the Turkish invaders and the medieval soldiers defenders of the city, also parade figures representing the people of Potenza of the twelfth, sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, wearing the traditional clothes and costumes of those historical periods. On May 30, the celebrations in honor of the saint end with a religious procession that runs through the streets of the historic center.  
• May potentino. In May. This month in Potenza is traditionally dedicated to the organization, by the municipal administration and local cultural associations, of cultural, food and wine and playful events and events linked to the town tradition, which culminate on May 29 with the historic parade of Turks. 
• National Festival of Pyrotechnic Art "Fuochi sul Basento". Fireworks competition organized annually from 1989 to early September in the eastern outskirts of Potenza, in which companies from the sector from most of Italy participate. 
• City of the hundred scales festival. International festival of urban dance and performing arts in urban landscapes born in 2008 in collaboration with the cultural institutions of the city such as the Regional Museum Complex, the University, schools and artistic and professional realities whose purpose is the enhancement of abandoned urban areas or abandoned through cultural and artistic initiatives; it is generally held in September. 
• WoodyGroove Festival. In June and July. Music festival that has become over the years one of the main events in the independent music scene of Southern Italy. 
• Living nativity scene of Contrada Cavalieri. Living nativity scene organized since 1987 in the homonymous district, has assumed increasing importance over the years up to the participation of 120 figures who, in addition to representing the nativity, recall in special spaces the ancient trades of the peasant and artisan tradition of the city. 
• Christmas markets (In the historic center). In December and January. Organized by the municipal administration since 2010. 

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Shows

• 40.6382715.8020321 Francesco Stabile Theater. One of the cultural landmarks of the city and the region: it is the only opera house in Basilicata, built at the end of the nineteenth century and declared in 2014 a Lucanian historical theater.  
• 40.647715.7965832 Don Bosco Film Theater, Piazza Don Bosco, 11bis, ☎ 39 0971 445921, @[email protected]. Built in the early eighties within the Salesian Opera of Potenza, with its 604 seats it is the largest theatrical structure in the province of Potenza. 

Where to eat

The cuisine of Potenza originates from the peasant tradition and is famous for its first courses based on pasta, including strascinati, fusilli, orecchiette, macaroni and ravioli alla Potentina, as well as lagane, typical pasta similar to tagliatelle but of shorter length, usually accompanied by beans or other legumes; the typical ragù alla potentina is also renowned, otherwise called 'ndruppeche in the local dialect, used to season the first courses.

As for salty baked goods, the typical focaccia is called u 'rucc'l', and exists in various versions depending on the seasoning: onion, peppers, eggplant, oregano.

The ciambotta is instead a dish based on vegetables, as well as the Maritata soup, which in the traditional version involves the addition of pork and is for this reason called rich married soup.

The potentina cod is the only dish of the typical cuisine based on fish, which also exists in the version a ciauredda, or rather like soup; Potentina chicken is instead one of the typical meat-based preparations.

Where stay

Safety

How to keep in touch

Around

The metropolitan area of ​​Potenza includes the municipalities of Fussy, Tito, Picerno, Screening of Basilicata, Avigliano, Rotate, Mountain toast is Pietragalla (contiguous municipalities); and the municipalities of Abriola, Albano di Lucania, Rather, Baragiano, beautiful, Campomaggiore, Cancellara, Castelmezzano, Filiano, Laurenzana, Oppido Lucano, Pietrapertosa, San Chirico Nuovo, Satriano di Lucania, Savoy of Lucania, Tolve, Tricarico, Trivigno is Vietri di Potenza.

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