Brienza

Brienza stands at about 710 metres in the central-western part of the province of Potenza, on the border with Campania. Its old village winds in a spiral around Castello Caracciolo at the top of the hill, with the lanes of Santa Maria and San Michele dei Greci climbing towards the walls.

The village was the birthplace of Francesco Mario Pagano, the jurist and leading figure of the 1799 Neapolitan Republic. Its cooking is classic Lucanian: fusilli, cavatelli, lagane and ravioli with meat sauce and salted ricotta, porcini and truffles.