Castel Lagopesole, or simply Lagopesole, is a civil parish (frazione

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

) of the municipality (comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

) of Avigliano, in Basilicata

Basilicata

Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...

, southern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It has a population of 652.

History

It is home to a large castle, built by the Saracen

Saracen

Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

s. Later it was expanded by the Normans and was a hunter mansion for Frederick II of Hohenstaufen

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...

 and a summer residence for the Angevine kings

Capetian House of Anjou

The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...

  of Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

.

During the brigand

Brigandage in the Two Sicilies

Brigandage in the Two Sicilies had existed in some form since ancient times, however its origins as outlaws targeting random travellers would evolve vastly later on in the form of the political resistance movement form of brigandage in the Two Sicilies...

 age of southern Italy, the castle was captured by Carmine Crocco

Carmine Crocco

Carmine Crocco, known as Donatello was an Italian brigand. Initially a robber in revenge for the abuses suffered, he fought in the service of Giuseppe Garibaldi and, soon after the Italian unification, he formed an army of two thousand men, leading the most cohesive and feared band in southern...

  (1861) and used as his base.

Geography

Lagopesole is located 27 km in north of Potenza

Potenza

-Transportation:Potenza is a rail junction on the main line from Salerno to Taranto, managed by FS Trenitalia; it has also a connection to Altamura, served by the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane regional company...

 and 33 in south of Melfi

Melfi

Melfi is a town and comune in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.-Geography:On a hill at the foot of Mount Vulture, Melfi is the most important town in Basilicata's Vulture, both as a tourist resort and economic centre.-Early history:Inhabited...

, and is crossed by the National Road "SS 93". It is 5 km far from Filiano

Filiano

Filiano is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Atella, Avigliano, Forenza, Ripacandida, San Fele....

 and 20 from Avigliano. In the zone of Pian del Lago it is situated the bed of a dry lake, Lago Pesole.