1 st DAY: MATERA Arrival in Matera by own bus in the afternoon; accommodation in hotel, check-in and meeting with the guide to visit the historic centre of the magnificent Matera (about 3 hours access to the historical stones to be paid locally). In the evening dinner and overnight in hotel.
2 nd DAY: ACERENCE-VENOSA Breakfast in hotel and departure to Acerenza for a guided tour of the village that is part of the circuit in “Most Beautiful Villages of Italy” called “Cathedral City” for the imposing temple that dominates the centre of the ancient village, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta and San Canio (XI-XIII century). Continue to Venosa. Guided tour of the village: Venosa is a splendid city, where time flows between past and present. This can be seen once you arrive in Piazza Orazio, where the statue dedicated to Horace stands out, one of the greatest poets of the Roman era, near what may have been his home. In the heart of its historic centre, it overlooks the majestic Pirro del Balzo castle. At the end, transfer to Rapolla Spa for hotel accommodation, dinner and overnight.
3 rd DAY: MELFI-RAPOLLA After breakfast in hotel, departure to Melfi. Immersed in the splendid landscape of the Vulture Melfese, the city of Frederick II has a unique wall in southern Italy, complemented by ancient Norman walls with watch towers. The town is dominated by the majestic Norman-Swabian castle, built, in fact, by the Normans and enlarged by Frederick II of Swabia, whose rooms house the “National Archaeological Museum of Vulture Melfese Massimo Pallottino”, in which the important archaeological documentation found in the Vulture Melfese area is kept. Lunch break in the farmhouse and in the afternoon guided tour of Rapolla; City of wineries and thermal waters, Rapolla is a small centre of Vulture Melfese with infinite resources. It is worth foreseeing a stop in the village, walking through the narrow and suggestive streets in steep ascent towards the top of the hill. Characteristic of the underground cellars that represent the well-known “Urban Park of the Cellars”. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
4 th DAY: LAKES OF MONTICCHIO-LAGOPESOLE Breakfast in hotel, check-out and departure to Monticchio Lakes. The guide will show you these volcanic lakes because they were born in ancient volcano craters and have created what is called “the Switzerland of Basilicata” for its luxuriant nature. A walk along the path (asphalted and simple) to admire a landscape of luxuriant forests, the abbey of San Michele and the ruins of the monastery of Sant’Ippolito. Stop for lunch in a local restaurant and in the afternoon continue to Lagopesole to visit the Castle: It is the place where Federico II, Emperor of Swabia, loved retiring to devote himself to hunting, one of his passions and it was the favourite place of Manfredi, son of the same “Stupor Mundi”. In the evening transfer to Potenza, hotel accommodation, dinner and overnight.
5 th DAY: CASTELMEZZANO-PIETRAPERTOSA Breakfast in hotel. Departure for Castelmezzano: see the village in the distance, so small and graceful, experience the sensation of entering a fairy tale, whose protagonists are the golden eagle and the owl, the great mother, the anvil and the mouth of the lion. They are the names borrowed from the imagination, because the culture of the huge boulders of sandstone rock, over time have been shaped by the games of wind and rain, up to assume similar forms, really exixt. Then follow the nearby Pietrapertosa. Stop for lunch and continue to visit Pietrapertosa which is one of the “most beautiful villages in Italy”, climbed over the Small Lucan Dolomites and immersed in the Regional Park of Gallipoli Cognato. The charming village is built entirely on bare rock, almost set like the most precious of stones. You can see it along the only main road and it is located behind the large rocky mass that is located right at the entrance. Departure to Campania (Nola area) hotel accommodation, dinner and overnight.
6 th DAY: return After breakfast in hotel, departure to return to the place of origin. End of the services.
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