Venosa (ancient Venusia, the Roman colony established in 291 BC on the chalk hill above the Ofanto river valley in what is now the Basilicata-Puglia border zone) is one of the least visited historically significant towns in southern Italy and, for the visitor prepared to make the detour from the Amalfi Coast or Naples circuit, one of the most concentrated in its specific combination of Roman, Lombard, Norman, and Jewish heritage in a compact medieval hill town center. Venosa is the birthplace of Quintus Horatius Flaccus. Horace (65-8 BC), the poet who wrote the Odes and the Satires and who coined the phrase "carpe diem" in Odes I.11, and the town takes this association with the specific civic pride that Italian towns direct toward their historical associations regardless of the 2,000 years of distance. There is a Piazza Orazio, an Ospedale Orazio, a Hotel Orazio. The tourism branding of Venosa leads with the poet's portrait on every signboard, and the specific quality of this identification (the small-town pride in its most famous son, whether or not the townspeople have read the Odes) is one of the most specifically Italian cultural phenomena in the country.
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What to See in Venosa
The Incompiuta: The Unfinished Norman Abbey
The Abbazia della Santissima Trinità (the Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity) at Venosa is a complex of two churches on the same site: the Romanesque "Trinità" church (11th century, completed, the main church of the Norman abbey founded by Robert Guiscard in 1059, with the specific Apulian Romanesque nave and the tombs of the Altavilla (de Hauteville) Norman family members including Robert Guiscard himself and several of his brothers, the Norman rulers of southern Italy lie in this small Basilicata town rather than in the royal capitals of Palermo or Bari). And the "Incompiuta" (the Unfinished), the massive new church begun beside the Romanesque original in the 14th century and abandoned at the death of the main patron before completion, leaving the walls rising to approximately 8 meters without a roof and the stone blocks of the never-completed nave slowly being absorbed into the archaeological park around them. The Incompiuta is one of the most atmospheric abandoned architectural monuments in Italy, the roofless nave with its exposed medieval masonry and the views of the Basilicata countryside through the empty arches is the specific quality of a ruin that is still a monument rather than a heap.
The Archaeological Park and Jewish Catacombs
Venosa's archaeological park (adjacent to the Trinità abbey) contains the excavated remains of Roman Venusia: the amphitheater (partially excavated, the cavea visible as a depression in the terrain), the thermal baths, and sections of the Roman street grid. More specifically interesting for the non-specialist: the Jewish catacombs of Venosa (3rd-6th century AD, accessible with the archaeological park ticket) are among the most significant Jewish catacomb systems in Italy outside Rome, the 3km of tunnels with the specific Jewish iconography (menorot, amphoras, the Aramaic and Latin and Greek inscription combinations) document the substantial Jewish community of Roman Venusia.
Aglianico del Vulture: The Wine of Venosa
Venosa is in the heart of the Aglianico del Vulture DOCG zone (the volcanic basalt soils of the Monte Vulture extinct volcano, 30km northwest of Venosa), the wine region that produces the most tannic and longest-aging red wine of Basilicata, considered the "Barolo of the South" for its late-harvested Aglianico grape (the same grape as Taurasi in Campania, here on volcanic basalt rather than the limestone-clay soils of Irpinia). The specific Aglianico del Vulture producers accessible from Venosa: Elena Fucci (Barile, the most internationally acclaimed single-vineyard producer, whose "Titolo" wine appears on the best Italian restaurant lists), Cantine del Notaio (Rionero in Vulture, a larger producer with a more accessible visitor experience).
Q&A: Venosa
How do I get to Venosa from Naples or the Amalfi Coast?
Venosa is approximately 2.5-3 hours from Naples by car via the A16 motorway (Napoli-Bari) to the Candela exit, then SS93 south to Venosa. No direct public transport from Naples. The nearest train station is Rocchetta Sant'Antonio-Lacedonia on the Foggia-Potenza line (30km from Venosa, with infrequent connections). The most practical approach: rent a car in Naples or Bari and combine Venosa with a Basilicata interior circuit (Matera, the Agro Vulture, Melfi, the Norman castle of Melfi, 15km from Venosa, is the finest Norman castle in southern Italy and the site where Frederick II promulgated the Constitutions of Melfi in 1231).
