Pisticci

Pisticci is a hill town in the province of Matera, overlooking the Ionian coastal plain from a ridge in the badlands (calanchi) of eastern Basilicata — a position that has earned it the nickname "Balcony over the Ionian." It is the largest comune in the province after Matera itself. The town's whitewashed historic core, the Dirupo quarter, was largely rebuilt after a major landslide in 1688 destroyed part of the earlier settlement; residents chose to rebuild on the stable ridge rather than relocate to the valley, giving Pisticci its distinctive tight cluster of white houses. Pisticci does not have Matera's famous rock-cut Sassi dwellings, but it lies within day-trip range of Matera's UNESCO-listed old town. The area is also known as the historic production site of Amaro Lucano, the Basilicata-born herbal liqueur.