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Grumento Nova

Info
Distance from Potenza: 59 km

Distance from Matera: 113 km

Altitude: 771 m amsl

Postal code: 85050

Inhabitants: 1873 (Grumentini)

Commune in the province of Potenza

Grumento is one of the most important historical sites in Basilicata. In Roman history Grumentum is mentioned in the war against Hannibal and in the Social War in 90 B.C. It was well known since the First Punic war.

After the destruction of Grumentum by the Saracens in 973, its inhabitants moved to the surrounding areas in the Agri Valley, where they founded the village called ‘Grumento Nova’. After a period of Norman domination, it passed under the control of the Swabians. In 1870 it was bought by the Giliberti family, who built the Castle, of which only some ruins remain now.

Not far from the village there is the ‘Parco Archeologico di Grumentum’ (Grumentum Archaeological Park), with the ruins of several buildings, and the museum.

In the village there are Sant’Antonio’s Church, dating from the XIX century, with a neoclassical façade and a beautiful bell tower, and the Rosario Church, of 1860, with a dome supported by four columns, in which there are some interesting mosaics.

Not far from the ruins of the old town there is the Pertusillo Lake, an artificial basin surrounded by luxurious vegetation, rich in eels and trout.