What is Miglionico known for?

Seven-tower castle from the eighth or ninth century, expanded in 1110 and the fifteenth, where the Conspiracy of the Barons met in 1485. 1499 polyptych by Cima da Conegliano in the Chiesa Madre, one of the finest Renaissance paintings in Basilicata. Olive groves on the slopes between the Bradano and Basento, anchor of the Città dell'Olio designation, oil pressed locally each autumn.

Miglionico is a comune in the province of Matera, Basilicata region of Italy, about 86 kilometers from Bari.

Basilicata · Matera

Miglionico

A hilltop borgoabove the Bradano, the seven-tower castle that gave the 1485 Conspiracy of the Barons its hall.

86 km / 53 mi

Nearest hub (Bari)

2,372

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Miglionico sitson a hill between the Bradano and Basento rivers, twelve kilometers from Matera in the central-eastern Matera province. The town is dominated by the Castello del Malconsiglio, the Castle of the Bad Council, built in the eighth or ninth century, enlarged in 1110 and again in the fifteenth century, with seven towers in a parallelogram plan: some square and oldest, two double towers, and circular towers at the corners. The castle gave its name and its hall to the Conspiracy of the Barons in 1485, when the Sanseverino and Del Balzo families convened here to plot the overthrow of King Ferdinand I of Aragon. The room where they met is still called the Sala del Malconsiglio, the Hall of Bad Counsel; the conspiracy failed and the families were destroyed. Miglionico is one of the Borghi più belli d'Italia and carries the Città dell'Olio designation for the olive groves on the surrounding slopes.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello del Malconsiglio
Castle with seven towers in a parallelogram plan, built in the eighth or ninth century, expanded in 1110 and the fifteenth century, site of the 1485 Conspiracy of the Barons.
Sala del Malconsiglio
The hall inside the castle where the Sanseverino and Del Balzo families plotted against Ferdinand I of Aragon in 1485; the room from which the castle takes its name.
Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Maggiore
Mother church on the high point of the village, with a polyptych by Cima da Conegliano dated 1499, one of Basilicata's finest Renaissance works.
Centro storico
Medieval ridge town below the castle, with stone lanes, small piazzas and the olive groves of Città dell'Olio on the surrounding slopes.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the months when Miglionico's ridge feels right. The Castello del Malconsiglio against the Bradano and Basento valleys is at its best in slanting light. July and August push past thirty-five degrees; the centro storico empties between two and seven in the afternoon, though the castle stays open with summer hours. November through March is quiet and often cold, with many trattorie closed and the Cima polyptych in the Chiesa Madre seen mostly by locals. The olive harvest runs October into November, when the comune's frantoi turn through the night.