Important thermal and spa resort in the province of Potenza, situated on the North-East of the massif of the Vulture: The discovery of a necropolis dating from Neolithic times, attest without doubt, the fact that Rapolla was founded and established in an area inhabited since ancient times. Settlement during the Magna Greek Ages, in the X century a group of Basilian monks sheltered here. A Lombard stronghold, later enlarged and fortified under the rule of the Normans, it was destroyed in 1187 by the Melfitani and rebuilt by Guglielmo il Buono a few years later. Suggestive are the ancient caverns carved into the rock and used, now as then, for the preservation and aging of Aglianico wine.
Sites of Interest:
- the Swabian-Norman Cathedral of the XII century, with sculptural decorative elements of the XIII century and flanked by a Bell tower built in 1209;
- the rural Chapels of Saint Lucia alla Gioconella (built underground with a large XIII century fresco) and of the Crucifix (adjacent to the Church of St. Blaise with frescoes of the XII-XIII centuries);
- the Church of San Biagio and the Church of the Annunciation, both in Baroque style;
- the Valley of the Mills with the remains of several water mills.