CNA - BASILICATA COAST TO COAST

Arrival by private transport in Naples, meeting with the guide, and transfer to the hotel in Maratea.

Check-in and room allocation.

Dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Departure for the excursion along the "Path of the Hermitages" to reach Christ the Redeemer. Visit the Cathedral of San Biagio and the ruins of the ancient castle. Lunch on your own and transfer to Trecchina, a small village with narrow streets, the ruins of the 16th-century castle, and the central Piazza del Popolo. We will then ascend to the Sanctuary of Madonna del Soccorso, offering breathtaking views of the entire Gulf of Policastro. Don’t miss local specialties such as Trecchina bread, walnut pastries, and chestnut gelato.

Technical data: 7 km +400m, 4h, medium difficulty

Transfer to Castelluccio Superiore. Arrival at the hotel, check-in, dinner, and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Trekking “The Garden of the Gods,” named after the presence of young Pinus leucodermis (Bosnian pine), a botanical rarity and true protagonist of the Pollino National Park. We will be fully immersed in the lush nature of Italy’s largest national park, crossing vast plateaus, streams, and ancient beech forests, under the watchful eyes of free-roaming horses and Podolica cattle. Afternoon arrival near the Sanctuary of Madonna del Pollino for a short stop at the Loricato refuge.

Technical data: 14 km +650m, 7h, medium-high difficulty

Return to hotel, dinner, and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Excursion to the Sacro Monte of Viggiano at 1,725 meters, home of the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna, protector of Basilicata. From the top, enjoy views of the entire Agri Valley, its small villages, and the peaks of the Lucanian Apennine National Park, including the Sirino massif, Monte Alpi, the Maddalena chain, and Monte Raparo.

Tasting of local Lucanian products, followed by a visit to the archaeological site of Grumentum, known as “Lucanian Pompeii,” located near Lake Pertusillo, where some memorable scenes of Rocco Papaleo’s film were shot.

Dinner and overnight stay in Aliano.

Breakfast. Trekking “The Gullies of Aliano” along the trails of Carlo Levi, author of Christ Stopped at Eboli, the literary work that made Lucania famous worldwide. Carlo Levi was exiled by the Fascist regime in 1935 due to his anti-regime activity, initially sent to Grassano and later to Aliano, a small village in Matera province. In the afternoon, visit the Art Gallery with original works by the Turin author and the House where Don Carlo lived during his exile in Lucania.

Aliano is also ideal for tasting traditional rural dishes such as gnammuriedd or Ferrandina baked black olives.

Technical data: 6 km +300m, 4h, medium difficulty

Dinner and overnight stay in Aliano.

Breakfast and check-out. Departure for Craco, one of Italy’s most important ghost towns, where Rocco Papaleo delivered the famous line, “I like to think Craco rejected modernity.” Next, transfer to Montalbano Jonico and excursion through the gullies along the ancient mule tracks connecting the town center with the fertile Agri River valleys. Montalbano Jonico is home to the Francesco Lomonaco Literary Park; Lomonaco was one of the greatest Lucanian writers and mentor to Alessandro Manzoni.

Lunch, followed by transfer to Policoro, situated along the Ionian Sea near an ancient Magna Graecia city, Heraclea, a magical place where history, culture, and nature meet harmoniously. In the afternoon, enjoy some leisure time on the beach with the possibility to swim.

Technical data: 4 km +300m, 3h, easy

Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel in Policoro.

Breakfast and check-out. Transfer to Naples and/or Bari.

End of services.