The Region Food and Wine The Activities

Tursi

Situated between two major rivers that cross Basilicata, the Sinni and the Agri, and at the end of the Lucania Appenine chain of mountains, through the centuries, Tursi found itself in a very strategic location. Originating from the Goths of the fourth or fifth century, followed by the Turks at the turn of the millennium, Tursi was a safe haven for its residents. The benefits of Tursi’s place in Basilicata were also its nemesis through the turbulent middle ages, as it was besieged from foreign and local invaders. For that reason, the ancient Rabatana quarter is built on a steep cliff. Its defenses withstood the perils of the beginning of the thirteenth century, when civil wars among the peoples of the Kingdom of Naples threatened to destroy entire towns and villages.

Today the only invaders of the Rabatana are the new explorers of Italy, searching through the history for the southern Italian lifestyle; visiting its houses, its pathways and alleys cascading down the steep slope. The church of Santa Maria Maggiore in the centre of the town, and the 12th century Sanctuary of Santa Maria d”Anglona on the road out of Tursi are worth visiting.