Anywhere Italy
Stemma di Stigliano

Basilicata · Matera

Stigliano

At 909 meters on the northern edge of the Lucanian calanchi, the highest commune in Matera province, Basilicata's capital under the Spanish Medina from 1556.

Known for

  • CALANCHI

    Northern wall of the Lucanian clay badlands, lunar eroded ridges running south to Aliano, Craco and the Cavone.

  • MEDINA CAPITAL

    Made capital of the Basilicata province by the Spanish Dukes of Medina from 1556, after passing from the Carafa fief in the sixteenth century.

  • HIGHEST IN MATERA

    At 909 meters, the highest commune in the province of Matera, ridge town with 209 km² of territory across the calanchi.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

The festa: Antonio di Padova, 13 June

Why come

Stigliano sits at 909 meters on a ridge in the Collina Materana, the highest commune in the province and the northern wall of the Lucanian calanchi, the lunar clay badlands that run south through Aliano and Craco to the Cavone. The town was founded by the Lucani, taken by Greek Metaponto, owned in the imperial period by the Roman Hostilii. The Carafa of Naples acquired it in 1289.

In 1556 the fief passed to the Spanish Dukes of Medina, who made Stigliano the capital of the Basilicata province for a time. The Chiesa Madre dell'Assunta, with a seventeenth-century nucleus, holds a 1520 polyptych by Simone da Firenze and an early-fifteenth-century Sant'Anna by a Neapolitan master. Stigliano sits on the Via dei Calanchi cycle and walking circuit, linked to Aliano (the Carlo Levi village), Cirigliano and Ferrandina along the eroded clay ridges.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Stigliano’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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Stigliano — photo 1
Stigliano — photo 2

What to see

  • Chiesa Madre dell'Assunta

    Mother church with seventeenth-century nucleus, houses a 1520 polyptych by Simone da Firenze and an early-fifteenth-century Sant'Anna by a Neapolitan master.

  • Convento di Sant'Antonio

    Seventeenth-century Baroque façade with an unusual Arabic-style dome, anchor of the upper centro storico above the Lucanian calanchi.

  • Castello e mura

    Ruins of the historic castle and surviving stretches of the medieval town walls, anchor of the Carafa, then Medina period of the fief.

  • Centro storico

    Stone-built medieval and early-modern core at 909 meters, narrow alleys and small piazze on the ridge above the calanchi.

  • Via dei Calanchi

    Cycling and walking circuit through the Lucanian clay badlands linking Stigliano with Cirigliano, Aliano and Ferrandina along the eroded ridges.

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Living here

  • Population 3,584
  • Very remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 2 h 16 min drive
  • Regional capital Potenza, 1 h 29 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 909 m
  • Population: 3,584
  • Surface area: 211.15 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Close by

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