Pignola: History, Nature and May Festivals
Accommodation in Pignola
Pignola combines historic architecture, woodland landscapes, religious events in May, Lago Pantano and rural culture.
File:DSC 6994 Pignola fotografata dal monte Serranetta.jpg
Photo: Santarsiero Donato via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Elevation and Landscape
The historic centre of Pignola lies at an altitude of 927 metres above sea level and overlooks the upper Basento Valley. The view extends across the valley, while the settlement itself lies within a distinctly varied landscape. Its elevation gives the historic centre a clear connection with the valley.
Pignola offers a diverse landscape featuring the beech forests of Rifreddo, chestnut groves, and extensive stands of silver fir and Norway spruce. Beech, chestnut and the two fir species thus represent different types of woodland.
Architectural Traces in the Centre
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II showcases Pignola’s imposing palazzi and elegant portals. Its architectural features include caryatids and telamons, mascarons, figurative consoles and wrought-iron balconies. The view of the square brings together palazzi, portals and these ornamental details.
The Portale Ciasca is particularly striking. It is designed in the Barocchetto or Rococo style and features demon-shaped mascarons. The associated palace façade has wrought-iron balconies.
The Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore was rebuilt in 1784 on the foundations of a Romanesque church. The former mills, now disused, are considered an interesting example of industrial archaeology. Their wheels were once powered by Pignola’s streams. The mills also point to the former use of the streams as a source of power.
Religious Traditions and Events in May
The Santuario di Maria Santissima degli Angeli houses the Madonna del Pantano, a wooden statue carved and gilded by Geronimo Arnone between 1577 and 1587.
The annual celebration in honour of Maria Santissima degli Angeli takes place from the third Saturday to the fourth Sunday in May. As part of the celebration, on the morning of the third Sunday in May, a procession travels from the Santuario di Pantano to the Chiesa Madre di Pignola.
La Uglia di Pignola takes place every year on the third Sunday in May. The Festa delle Uglia is a street performance featuring broom bonfires and a fabric Guglia bearing an image of the Madonna, carried by bearers through the historic centre. The performance brings this motif directly into the heart of the town.
Lago Pantano and Local Specialities
Lago Pantano is a regional nature reserve and a WWF oasis. It includes equipped nature trails.
The Fagiolo rosso scritto del Pantano di Pignola is associated with distinctive methods of processing, preserving and ageing.
Rural Life in the Museum
The Museo scenografico del Costume e della Civiltà rurale conveys rural life in the 19th and 20th centuries through traditional costumes and two reconstructed scenes. The reconstructed scenes complement the collection with depictions of everyday situations.
The museum displays traditional costumes from various places in Basilicata, yarns and equipment used to make them, as well as everyday objects and agricultural tools. The exhibition brings together clothing, its production and work in the countryside.
More Places
More destination pages: Marsico Nuovo and Viggiano.
Back to the main travel overview: Potenza.
