Venosa Attractions

From Rapolla a detour (20km/12mi east) can be made to Venosa (415m/1,370ft; pop. 12,000), an ancient Samnite town, from 291 B.C. the Roman colony of Venusia and the birthplace of the poet Horace. Excavations have brought to light considerable remains of the town dating from the Roman Imperial period. Square stone blocks from the amphitheater were used in the 12th century in the construction of the convent of the Santissima Trinità, founded in 1046, which is situated to the northeast of the town. The original church was intended by the Norman duke Robert Guiscard (d. 1085) as a family burial place but remained unfinished. It contains 11th century frescoes, the tomb of Robert Guiscard's wife, Roman inscriptions and fragments of sculpture. To the north, on the road to the station, are Jewish catacombs (fourth-fifth centuries) with inscriptions in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. In the center of the town stands a 15th century castle.