Melfi (Mèlfe (in the Lucanian dialect) belongs to the province of Potenza and is the third-largest municipality in terms of population after the provincial capitals; indeed, since 1866, various proposals have been put forward to make it a province in its own right, separating it from the province of Potenza.
Its historic centre has an overall medieval feel and, over time, has developed into a a major industrial centre, home to numerous businesses.
The San Nicola di Melfi industrial estate, established in the early 1990s, is home to the SATA car factory, the FCA Group’s most advanced plant in Italy, which utilises innovative automation systems across the production stages and a work organisation that maximises productivity.
Region
Melfi, one of the towns situated on the slopes of Mount Vulture and therefore predominantly hilly, lies in the far north of the region, bordering both Apulia and Campania, from which it is separated by the River Ofanto.
History
Origins
Mèlfe was inhabited as far back as ancient times. However, the date of its foundation is uncertain, with opinions on the matter even differing from one another.
Giovanni Pontano and Leandro Alberti support the theory that Greek foundation. Conversely, Erchemperto – a Lombard monk – traces the city’s origins back to some families of the Roman Empire who were originally supposed to move to the new Byzantium, the city rebuilt by Constantine the Great.
A storm swept away their hopes near Schiavonia, forcing them to seek refuge in the Croatian town of Ragusa. They were driven out of there and eventually arrived in the Vulture area, where they founded Melfi.
It seems their trials and tribulations were not yet over: the barbarians are said to have undermined their stability, forcing them to undertake yet another pilgrimage, which culminated in the founding of Amalfi, in Campania (some believe that the name Amalfi actually derives from Melfi).
A final theory comes from the Byzantine general Basil Boioannes (katapan of Italy from 1017 to 1027): he reports the foundation at the beginning from the 11th century for two reasons: the lack of documents attesting to the existence of Melfi in earlier periods, and its absence from the list of towns named by Pliny the Elder, around 70 AD, as is the case with Rapolla and Venosa.
Monuments and places of interest
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
Designed by Noslo of Remerio, construction began in 1076 at the behest of Robert Guiscard, although other sources give the start date as 1153, on the orders of William I of Sicily. Very little remains of its Norman past due to earthquakes and repeated restorations, which have given it its current, distinctly Baroque appearance, with the exception of the bell tower, erected in 1153 on the orders of Roger II, which still retains a Norman Romanesque style. The interior has a Latin cross plan and three naves, surmounted by a gilded coffered ceiling and an octagonal pyramid-shaped dome.
Church of St Anthony
It was built in 1423 and restored after 1851. It was severely damaged by Odet de Foix’s army in 1528, during the siege of Melfi, and withstood the earthquakes of 1731 and 1752, but the earthquake of 1851 caused serious damage. From the 17th to the 18th century, the church was dedicated to Saint Anthony. Built in the Romanesque and Gothic styles, it houses frescoes from that period, a wooden statue of Saint Anthony with the Child painted in gold, and a painting by Carlo Sellitto depicting The Souls in Purgatory. During restoration work, two Gothic arches were discovered; the date of reconstruction (1523), following the 15th-century earthquake, is carved into the triumphal arch.
Church of St Anne and St Mary of Suffrage
Built in 1934, this church, which belongs to the Cathedral parish, is known for organising the Good Friday procession, in which young girls dressed in black, holding the mysteries of the Passion of Jesus, walk alongside the sacred images of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Dead Christ. This church also organises the procession of Saint Anne on 26 July.
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Carmine)
It was once part of the Carmelite monastery, which occupied a large part of the surrounding buildings. The original wooden door (now preserved in the Bishop’s Palace) features images that epitomise the medieval conception of death. The confraternity of this church (together with that of St Anne’s) organises the Holy Week services, featuring the performance of mournful hymns relating to the tragedy of Golgotha.
Church of St Theodore
The date of construction is unknown, although it is an ancient building; all that is known is that in 1040 it was elevated to parish status by Bishop Baldovino, a status it retained until 1988, when the then Bishop Cozzi incorporated the church into the Cathedral. The building once housed a small wooden casket containing the relics of Saint Theodore M., Saint Sebastian and Saint Petronilla; however, following the 1980 earthquake, these relics were lost. It houses a medium-sized wooden crucifix and a statue of the “Madonna Desolata”.
Church of St Lawrence
Dating back to 1120, when it belonged to the Abbey of Sant’Ippolito in Monticchio Laghi, it is probably the oldest building in Melfi, and consists of an octagonal baptistery flanked by a bell tower with a mezzanine.
Rock-cut Church of Santa Margherita
Entirely carved out of tuff, it dates back to 1200. It was discovered by Gian Battista Guarini. The frescoes depict subjects such as St Margaret (above the high altar), the Archangel Michael, the Madonna and Child, St John the Baptist and Christ Enthroned. Of particular note is a depiction of Frederick II encountering three skeletons, a common motif in memento mori art. Among the frescoes are three lay figures dressed as falconers, who, according to the Neapolitan critic Pasquale Capaldo, are the principal members of the Swabian imperial family: Frederick II, his wife Isabella of England and the emperor’s son, Conrad IV. The Melfi depiction of the encounter between the three dead and the three living is particularly distinguished, not only because of the hypothesis that the living are depicted as the imperial family, but also because it may be the oldest pictorial representation of the theme to have survived to the present day, a distinction contested by the fresco with the identical iconographic subject preserved in Atri Cathedral, albeit with some variations within the general composition.
