Tolve

Tolve, ancient Tulbium, stands on a sandstone spur at about 570 metres, some thirty kilometres north-east of Potenza. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years, as shown by Neolithic settlements at the foot of Monte Moltone.

The village is one of the main centres of the cult of Saint Roch in southern Italy: in mid-August the feast and pilgrimage draw worshippers from all over the region. Tolve is also mentioned in Carlo Levi’s «Christ Stopped at Eboli». Churches and monasteries outside the walls bear witness to its long religious history.