Monticchio Lakes

Set amid the greenery of a protected natural area, at an altitude of 658 metres, the Monticchio Lakes lie in a hamlet of the municipality of Atella (Potenza), at the foot of Mount Vulture in Basilicata. They fill the craters of the ancient Vulture volcano. The Lago Piccolo (Small Lake) is a "meromictic" lake: warm spring water rich in mineral salts flows in at depth, and because of its high density the bottom water does not mix with the surface water, despite its higher temperature. The Lago Grande (Large Lake) has an outflow that feeds into the River Ofanto. Its northern half is taken up by a steep-sided, funnel-shaped depression, while its southern half is shallow and slopes gently towards it. Below a depth of 10 metres its temperature stays almost constant at under 8 °C.

On the shores of the Lago Piccolo stands the splendid Benedictine Abbey of San Michele. Built on the slopes of the ancient crater, the abbey, together with the remains of the Sant'Ippolito complex, bears tangible witness to the presence of monastic orders in the Vulture area, and attentive visitors will also notice frescoes dating from the mid-11th century.

Not to be missed is the large and beautiful Grotto of San Michele, where the Basilian monks who once lived in the area gathered to pray. In the 8th century the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo was built around the grotto. It later passed to the Benedictines (who remained until 1456), then to the Capuchins (who founded a library and a woollen mill) and in 1782 to the Constantinian Military Order, which owned it until 1866. The complex consists of an imposing multi-storey monastery, an 18th-century church and the Chapel of San Michele Arcangelo. The church itself has been altered several times over the centuries, and recent restoration work has further changed the sanctuary and its surroundings: all the Baroque decoration has been removed from the church, the flight of steps linking the church to the shrine of the Archangel has been uncovered, and after the vault was demolished a reinforced-concrete trussed roof was built.

The Abbey of San Michele also houses the Vulture Natural History Museum. From here visitors can look down on the beautiful landscape of the two volcanic lakes nestled in the basin. Closely linked to this landscape, and not to be missed, is the entomology room devoted to the famous and rare Hartig's moth (Brahmaea europaea), a living fossil that survives today only in this remote habitat.

Near Monticchio, on Monte Serico, in the municipality of Atella (on the route of the Cammino), the Legenda tells of the miraculous episode in which "on Monte Serico William heals an old blind man".