Sasso di Castalda

Sasso di Castalda is a town at a height of 949 m above sea level, in the Lucano Apennine area. Its origins run back to the Longobard epoch, but scholars believe that it was already inhabited in Ancient Roman times, considering the nearby presence of the Via Herculea Roman road. According to popular culture, in the Middle Ages, constant invasions by snakes forced the dwellers of Pietra Castalda to move to today’s location, where at that time the village of Saxum was being built.
The Rocca, castle of Castello di Sasso, is a majestic construction, a watchtower dating back to Medieval times, from which the view takes in the whole town and reaches as far as the Pierfaone mountains to the east, and the hilly landscape set in the valley Valle del Melandro to the west. Today the castle is the destination reached by “Ponte alla Luna” (Bridge of the Moon), a Tibetan bridge suspended in the air at over a hundred metres above ground level, with a span of three hundred metres.
Fosso dell'Arenazzo (the Arenazzo Gorge) is the location of one of Italy’s most important geosites, the result of the collision between the African and the Euroasian plates. Today this area is a sort of open-air nature museum and workshop, and since 2010 it has been part of an educational itinerary popular both with professional geologists and with eager tourists.
Local culinary traditions, based on peasant life, includes characteristic recipes such as “minestra impastata” soup and “fusilli” and “orecchiette” pasta with “pezzente” (sausage) sauce, along with cured meats and cheeses.