Melfi is located in the northern part of Basilicata, in the south of Italy, in a hilly landscape. The city has one of the most important medieval castles in southern Italy, which we also visited.
Melfi Castle was built by the Normans in the Middle Ages, but until fifty years ago it was privately owned.

The old city was surrounded by a four-kilometer-long city wall, but today there is only part of it. In the area the land is very unstable, and often there have been earthquakes that destroyed even important monuments. So today we only see four of the six original doors.

During my stay in Melfi, I tried to taste many specialties, also because these in this area are not so common in other parts. I really liked the chestnut lasagna, this is made with chestnut flour. Other pasta dishes in the area are: a type of angular macaroni with wild boar sauce (Maccuarnar), and a pasta dish with a sauce of various types of meat, served with ricotta (strained with ricotta).

If you have the chance, you should go in October to Melfi, for the chestnut festival (Sagra della Varola). This is organized in Piazza del Duomo, where you eat roasted chestnuts and drink Aglianico. Everything, which you will find here is done with chestnuts, like sweets, but also ice cream. The whole party is accompanied by dance and music groups.