The Brigands’ Way between Ofanto and Lucania
This itinerary connects the village of Moschella to the Locone dam. You initially cross the Gaudiano farm roads, encountering some valuable historic buildings, such as the Di Ciommo farmhouse and Posta Gaudiano, in the area of Villaggio Gaudiano, in the Lavello area. Then begins the stupendous hilly area of the “Coppicelle” adorned with undulating wheat fields alternating with olive groves: there are some challenging ups and downs and sinuous hairpin bends, but fortunately some roads are surrounded by downy oaks which offer an enveloping useful shade on the coldest days hot.
Once near the Locone, it is possible to continue towards the dam, returning to the Apulian side, or – alternatively – head west to Montemilone following paved roads with almost zero traffic and an agricultural landscape that has remained frozen in some sections over time far away when the brigand Carmine Crocco fled from Moschella in the Tavoliere to return to Basilicata taking refuge with his gang in the woods of Montemilone. You pass near the fortified farmhouse Quinto, where in 1861 a clash took place between Major d’Errico of the Savoy army and a band of brigands led by the “sergeant” Romano; still today on the spot there is the “well of the brigands”, tomb of the men who perished in the ambush that foiled the meeting between the forces of Crocco and those of Romano.