Potenza, the mountains & Vulture

Getting to Venosa & Melfi (Vulture)

A car is best; Melfi and Rionero also have train stations on the line from Potenza.

The Vulture is closer to Puglia and Campania than to Matera. Naples and Bari airports are both around two hours away.

Routes at a glance

From	By	Time	Good to know
Potenza	Car	About 1 h	Via the SS658 to Melfi or Venosa.
Potenza	Train	About 1 h+	Regional trains towards Foggia stop at Rionero and Melfi; check timetables.
Naples	Car	About 2 h	A16 towards Bari, then south.
Bari	Car	About 1.75–2 h	A14 and A16, or via Canosa.
Matera	Car	About 2 h	Via Gravina and Spinazzola.

Times are typical and fares change — check current timetables and prices before you travel.

Melfi, Rionero, Barile, Venosa and the lakes are all within half an hour of each other by car. Buses exist but are infrequent.

Head south to Potenza and the Dolomiti Lucane.

Plan your days in Basilicata

Live prices and dates for tours, tickets and day trips in and around Venosa & Melfi (Vulture). Many options offer free cancellation.

Italy’s highest regional capital: a hilltop old town, a fine archaeological museum and a practical base for the mountains and the Vulture.

Two stone villages wedged among jagged sandstone peaks, linked by the Flight of the Angel, a steel cable you ride across the valley.

A city carved into a limestone ravine: cave houses, rock churches and the UNESCO-listed Sassi, one of the most striking townscapes in Europe.