In the Basilicata region not so far from the UNESCO World Heritage City, Matera, there is a beautiful town that has had in its being very strong influences both Arab and Norman due to the long years of domination of these populations in southern Italy. This city is the city of Tricarico, where I come after a bus trip from Matera. The
Arab populations who settled in this territory in the 9th century built a city with strong Moorish atmospheres not only with palaces but also with morphology. same as the town.
In fact, the city formed in a perfect “melted” scheme, typical of medieval cities built on the hills, houses in its historic center monuments of great historical and artistic interest such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta where in 1383 there was the coronation of the King of Naples, the enchanting and fascinating door of the Beccarie where still today they can be see small niches with shelves where lanterns were previously laid to make access to the city possible even after the sun went down.
Following the Norman conquests that took place since the eleventh century, the city was also characterized by Norman elements such as the numerous towers, among which by far the most known is the Norman tower 27 meters high and with even more than 5 meters thick walls.
But more than anything, it's wonderful to walk through its streets of the historic center, especially in the Arab districts of Ràbat and Saracen that have a labyrinthine structure with main roads from which numerous secondary roads branch out and in the Norman neighborhoods with parallel roads united by alleys perpendicular to them in gender or with steps or in any case with very steep slopes.