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Wine of the Vulture One of Italy's best wines, Aglianico del Vulture (D.O.C.), comes from vines grown on Mt Vulture - an extinct volcano. The fertile flanks of Vulture are perfect growing conditions for the aglianico grape which produces lusty reddish-burgundy coloured wines
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Holidays in Basilicata
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Italy's canyon country is sparsely populated, but littered with Greek remains, castles, abbeys, fascinating cities, the Mediterranean's most perfect example of a troglodyte settlement and some of Italy's best beaches. 'Earth as it was intended to be', says award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola of his beloved homeland.
Caught between Calabria, Puglia and Campania in the deep south, this ancient region is also Italy's most underdeveloped. Basilicata forms the instep of the boot-shaped Italian peninsula framed by two seacoasts, one on the Ionian Sea in the east and a smaller one on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west. And, in between, there are glorious tracts of unspoiled countryside and historic treasures.
In the last century, the battered landscape of the earthquake-riven deforested province of Basilicata became known through Carlo Levi's book 'Christ Stopped at Eboli' (Cristo si è fermato a Eboli). In this book he talks of the treeless slopes 'eroded into a pattern of holes and hillocks like a landscape of the moon'.The Unesco World Heritage Site, Matera is an extraordinary example of ancient and modern where people and their animals lived literally in 'sassi', cave-dwellings hewn into the rock, until quite recently.
Thought to resemble ancient Jerusalem, this remarkable troglodyte town, perched over a high ravine, has starred as a location for many films, including Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ'. Estimated to have been occupied by human beings for 9,000 years, several of the sassi have been transformed into rock chic hotels - fascinating, spacious and hugely atmospheric, set in a stunning location.
In the southwest corner, the Pollino National Park is Italy's largest protected area where mountains soar above 2,200 metres, the highest peaks of southern Italy. Set among unspoiled forest and countryside and sprinkled with traditional little villages, the area is covered with beech, chestnut and oak trees and the ancient pino loricato trees which only grow here and in the Balkans. It's also home to a wealth of exotic wild flowers and animals including golden eagles that circle in the sky over the ridges. From the summits you can see the western Tyrrhenian coast and the beaches around Maratea - not to be confused with Matera.
On the Tyrrehenian side, a stretch of glorious coastline along the Policastro Gulf, only 25km long, rivals the Amalfi coast for its unblemished loveliness. There is a spectacular coastal road overlooking unspoiled hidden coves and bays, very little in the way of development and fascinating villages that comprise Maratea, guarded by a huge figure of Christ 'Il Redentore' perched on the hillside and visible from miles away. The historic centre with its tangle of narrow streets clings to the hillside, while the pretty little harbour, far below, is full of both working fishing boats and sleek yachts. The little beaches Acquafredda, Fiumicello, Santavenere, Marina and Castrocucco are paradise found.
Near to the border with Puglia are reminders of the area's Greek past in the temple at Metaponto by the Ionian Sea, excavated archaeological sites and museums. Its 6th century BC Doric Temple (Tavole Palatine) still has15 standing columns. This long coastline has fine, golden sand backed by the fertile Metapontina Plain where cherry orchards and citrus groves flourish in the mild climate. Metaponto and Policoro are the two best-known and most popular beach resorts and Policoro is especially noted for its crystal clear, clean waters, which are the breeding grounds of endangered sea turtles.
Close to this coastline is the hilltown Bernalda, the original home of Francis Ford Coppola, which he featured in his 'Godfather lll' in Bernalda's Festival of San Bernardino. Now Coppola has bought a sumptuous palazzo there with plans to convert it into a hotel. He and his nephew Nicholas Cage are also helping their Bernaldese cousin to develop an arts centre in Metaponto - you might just bump into them....
Although Basilicata has no airports of its own, it is easily accessed from Naples in Campania and Bari (Puglia) airports.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS: www.discoverbasilicata.com