Hotel Villa Torre Antica

This was a journey into the past. Atena Lucana, the old city, is high on the mountain top and overlooks a spectacular valley below. It has breathtaking views. You need to be a mountain goat to climb and explore the streets. But if you love antiquity and have a sense of adventure, you won't be disappointed. The church of St Ciro is quite beautiful. The town folks (pop 2000) are friendly and proud of it's rich heritage. You feel the genuine sense of loss as families were forced to leave due to the lack of employment since the turn of the 20th century. They all have stories about where family members have emigrated to. This is more of an adult vacation, not much for youngsters to do. It is the real rural Italy, not one of the fast paced urban centers. You can breathe fresh air and gain a sense of serenity. Sometimes just sitting still is more than enough to do.

We chose this hotel as a nice stop over from southern Italy to Rome. It is slightly of the A-3 Highway. The hotel is in the small village of Atena Lucana which is atop a hill. The hotel is well maintained. We were received very nicely by Iovanna the hostess. She took us to the room which was very spacious, had very nicely decorated walls painted in old light gold tone. The bathroom was very clean and spacious. There was a nice comfortable queen size bed. The window gave us a panoramic view of the valley. The staff was always very courteous and attentive. I had for dinner in the hotel restaurant a seafood antipasto which included 2 nice sized gamberoni, grilled baby octopus and calamari followed by a nice freshly made pasta with salmon. These dishes were both delicious. The were accompanied by a nice glass of agliano red wine. For breakfast we had a nice continental breakfast which included some slices of prosciutto and local cheese. This is a clean, well maintained hotel with wonderful staff. Parking on site is complimentary. We highly recommend this facility.