A beautiful medieval town in the province of Potenza, situated in the valley of the Mercure, in the heart of the Pollino National Park, Castelluccio Inferiore, until 1813, was a hamlet of the nearby town of Castelluccio Superiore. Some historians state that the town arised in place of the ancient "Tebe Lucana" (Thebes of the Lucans), founded by the Osci and destroyed several times, while according to others, it stands on the ruins of the ancient "Merulum". Traces of pre-Roman civilization, in fact, have been unearthed in the district of Campanella, not far from the town. Over the centuries the town submitted the domain of several different feudal Lords and their families: the Sanseverino, the Palmieri, the Ciciniello and the Pescara di Diano.
Not to miss:
- the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas, which is not known with certainty the date of the foundation, the front has a vaguely neo-classical style and is flanked by a bell tower. The interior is decorated with stucco and other works of the eighteenth century Neapolitan artists, a polychrome altarpiece, a stone baptismal font of the sixteenth century and several paintings.
- the Church of the Annunciation, which features an outstanding cuspidate Bell tower covered with tiles in majolica;
- the Convent of St. Anthony of Padua, with the adjoining Chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie, which in 1852 hosted Ferdinand II Borbone, who donated 700 ducati to the friars for the restoration of the annexed chapel. The convent was closed, in 1866, due to a law of suppression of religious orders and only the Church remained open as place of worship;
- the XVII century Palazzo Marchesale (of the Marquis), which features large rooms and a frescoed inner courtyard;
- other noble palaces, such as: Palazzo Aiello (XVI-XVII century), Palazzo De Biase (XVII century), Palazzo Scutari (XVI-XVII century), Palazzo Roberti (XVI century), Palazzo Salerno (XVII century).
- the Watermill of St. John, an example of rural architecture.