Exciting Basilicata: Castelsaraceno and San Severino Lucano, tradition, nature and pure adrenaline

Holding onto a spur, Castelsaraceno is a pretty village of ancient origins (Saracen, hence the name) with a thousand stone houses that are held tightly together and then flow into a pleasant little square and from above form the shape of a heart. We are in the centre of Basilicata, between the Pollino National Park and the Lucano Val d \'Agri Lagonegrese Apennine National Park. Almost everyone knows the village since, from here, completely suspended in the void, starts the longest Tibetan bridge in the world connecting the two parks. Yet Casteddu, in the Lucanian dialect, is objectively a delightful place, with all the inhabitants who know each other by name and many possibilities for outdoor activities, in idyllic contact with nature. Trekking, climbing, mountain biking, walking, rafting along the Pollino rivers: in Castelsaraceno and in the immediate surroundings adults or children will never get bored. It is no coincidence that it is a stage of the Sentiero Italia CAI: the SI T04, which takes 15 km from Castelsaraceno to Latronico passing through beech forests and pastures, and the SI T05 stage leading to the Conserva refuge. Climbers, on the other hand, can scale the cliffs at the edge of the Favino forest, where it\'s also beautiful to walk among the beeches.

When you are not in the open air, the village offers the Pastoralism Museum, which tells the story of generations of shepherds thanks to the exhibition of traditional objects including a skavurateddu (ricotta mould), video interviews and a multi-sensory room.

With about 25 km of road, you can reach Latronico, famous for its thermal waters and the alabaster quarries called the \'marble of Latronico\', on the slopes of Mount Alps from which paths start.

An ancient village in Castelsaraceno, but which has literally been able to project itself into the future, with decidedly futuristic projects. Like the longest Tibetan bridge in the world: an unparalleled piece of engineering that launches itself into the void with its 586 metre length connecting the Pollino National Park, from Castelsaraceno, to the Lucano Val d\'Agri Lagonegrese Apennine National Park. In spite of this record, the bridge is walkable by everyone, always considering that you are 80 metres high, harnessed, and that the thrills will be strong, but it does not require you to be a tightrope walker or a professional Indiana Jones, because thanks to a system of steel cables it is anchored to the mountains and does not swing. So you can \'quietly\' focus on the landscape that surrounds it in all directions: the immensity of the greenery, prairies, gullies and the stream that flows below, at the bottom of the canyon. And once you reach the other side, to return, take a path that runs back through the gorge.

They call it the country of the stars because there is no light pollution there. And when all the lights go out and you raise your eyes, you can see the vault of the sky shining. But it is also the country of water, mountains, and nature. Plus outdoor activities. A sense of freedom invades those who go south up the valley of the Frido stream up to 877 meters of San Severino Lucano, a picturesque village and gateway to the Pollino National Park. The nerve centre of the town is the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which houses the Byzantine statue of the Madonna del Pollino in the winter months, while the other attractions are outside the town, such as the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pollino 16 km away ,RB Ride, the panoramic carousel on a belvedere surrounded by forests, Bosco Magnano with 1000 hectares of trees crossed by streams in an atmosphere of pagan elves and nymphs, and finally the Pollino Adventure Park.

In the Magnano Forest, just 5 km from San Severino Lucano, the park offers air routes, Tibetan bridges, suspended walkways that will make children and adults feel like real Tarzans of Basilicata in the woods. But the park is also a reference point for many outdoor activities on earth, such as mountain biking, orienteering, Nordic walking, river trekking or trekking. And to rest and eat under the trees, highly equipped picnic areas are available with tables and barbecues.