Castelmezzano is a village where you can enjoy unforgettable experiences of art, nature, history and entertainment. The village with its small sandstone-roofed houses and its tangle of narrow streets is well worth a visit. Piazza Caizzo is the hub of the town where the Mother Church of Santa Maria dell'Olmo, with its imposing Romanesque façade, built in the 13th century, is located. Walking up the main street to the Town Hall, and past the elegant palazzi in the centre, one can also reach the ruins of the Norman castle, located on a strategic point from which one can enjoy a vast panorama. Excursion lovers will be happy to know that several paths and trekking routes start from Castelmezzano. Among these is that of the 7 stones, which leads to the village of Pietrapertosa and evokes the tales and myths of popular tradition in visual, sound and engraved stone forms. A not-to-be-missed activity is the 'flight of the angel': a flight to be made along a cable that allows you to admire the entire valley below from a height of 800 metres. But the suggestions do not end here: not far from the town centre, finally, it will be possible to admire the megalithic walls and pinnacles modelled by the wind and rain called "owl's beak", "lion's mouth", "anvil", "golden eagle" because of their particular conformation.

The typical dishes to be savoured in Castelmezzano are varied and all bring with them the flavours and aromas of Lucanian tradition. A first course not to be missed is the homemade strangolapreti (or strascinati): these can be savoured with tomato sauce, meat sauce or in the ricotta and mint version, while another dish not to be missed is cavatelli with cruschi peppers and cacioricotta cheese. As in many Lucanian villages and towns, kid meat is a must in Castelmezzano and you can enjoy it barbecued and accompanied by vegetables and potatoes or cooked in the crock pot. Sheep meat is the main ingredient of Cuttiridd, a traditional shepherd dish in which this type of meat is accompanied by vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes and onions. Cheeses, especially pecorino, are a delicacy, to be eaten accompanied by 'sauze'z', which is a local salami prepared in both sweet and spicy versions. But the town's dish par excellence is the 'cuccìa', a soup of ancient origins made with wheat, broad beans, chickpeas and chickling peas that will give you a taste of the ancient flavours of yesteryear. For dessert, on the other hand, there are no doubts: you must try the 'crustole', a sweet especially linked to the Christmas period, made of a fried dough sprinkled with honey.

The events held in Castelmezzano are numerous and many of them, although linked to the religious sphere, are a festive occasion in which legends and popular traditions of peasant origin come together. On the first Sunday in May, there is the feast of the Madonna del Bosco with a procession that starts from the town's Mother Church and reaches the Chapel of the Madonna del Bosco, making three laps around it. After the Holy Mass, a collective lunch is held in the nearby countryside to the rhythm of popular music and dancing, and in the evening, the Sagra della Quagliata is held, dedicated to the preparation of cheese. The patronal feast, dedicated to San Rocco, is held on 19 August with a torchlight procession and religious celebration, followed by a series of appointments and events on the calendar. One of the most exciting events is the feast of St Anthony of Padua, associated with the May Festival on 12 and 13 September: on this occasion, the 'Wedding of the Trees' is celebrated, in which a long turkey oak trunk, chosen and cut with the traditional tools of the woodcutters, is transported by pairs of oxen to the village and is raised after 'marrying' 'the top', i.e. a holly tree that is also transported to the village after being cut.