What is Melfi known for?

Issued the 1231 Constitutions of Melfi from the castle, the legal code of the Kingdom of Sicily and a landmark of medieval European law. Pope Urban II convened a synod of seventy bishops in Melfi cathedral in September 1089, six years before the First Crusade was preached. Anchor of the Aglianico del Vulture DOC and DOCG, grown on the volcanic slopes of Monte Vulture surrounding the town.

Melfi is a comune in the province of Potenza, Basilicata region of Italy, about 54 kilometers from Foggia.

Basilicata · Potenza

Melfi

At 530 meters on the slopes of Monte Vulture, first Norman capital of the south and the seat of Frederick II's 1231 Constitutions of Melfi.

530m

Elevation

54 km / 34 mi

Nearest hub (Foggia)

17,092

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Melfi sits at 530 meters on the slopes of Monte Vulture, the 1,326-meter extinct volcano east of the Apennine spine. The Hauteville Normans took the town in 1041 and made it the first capital of their southern Italian duchy. The Castello di Melfi, built in the late eleventh century with ten towers, seven rectangular and three pentagonal, was expanded by Frederick II of Swabia after 1194; from this castle in 1231 he promulgated the Liber Augustalis, the Constitutions of Melfi, the legal code of the Kingdom of Sicily and one of the most ambitious medieval law texts in Europe. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta dates from 1056 and hosted five ecumenical councils between 1059 and 1137, including the 1089 council at which Pope Urban II prepared the ground for the First Crusade. The Castle today holds the Museo Archeologico Nazionale del Vulture-Melfese, with the second-century Roman sarcophagus of Rapolla as its centerpiece. Melfi anchors the Aglianico del Vulture DOC and DOCG zone.

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Gallery

9 photos · scroll →

Known for

Castello di Melfi
Late-eleventh-century Norman fortress with ten towers, expanded by Frederick II, source of the 1231 Constitutions of Melfi.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Dating from 1056, host of five ecumenical councils between 1059 and 1137, including the 1089 council of Pope Urban II.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale del Vulture-Melfese
Inside the castle, with the second-century Roman sarcophagus of Rapolla and finds from the Daunian, Lucanian and Roman periods.
Sarcofago di Rapolla
Second-century Roman marble sarcophagus carved with reclining figure and architectural niches, found near Rapolla and now in the castle museum.
Monte Vulture
Extinct volcano at 1,326 meters east of the Apennines, with the Laghi di Monticchio in the crater, defining the Aglianico del Vulture wine zone.
Centro storico
Walled medieval centre below the castle, with the Cathedral, the Porta Venosina city gate and the noble palazzi of the Norman-Swabian period.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October are the best windows in Melfi, with cool evenings and the Aglianico vineyards at their most photogenic. July and August reach the mid-thirties; the castle interiors and the cathedral hold the heat at bay. The Aglianico harvest runs into November and the Cantine and museums stay open. November to March is quiet, with shorter castle hours and snow possible on Monte Vulture above 800 meters. The Sagra della Varola, the chestnut festival, is held in October. Winter light on the ten castle towers, seen from the road in from Rapolla, is the photograph that lasts.