Monticchio

Monticchio is an Italian hamlet (frazione) belonging to the municipalities of Rionero in Vulture and Atella, in the Province of Potenza, Basilicata. The village is divided into three zones: Monticchio Laghi (part of Atella), Monticchio Bagni and Monticchio Sgarroni (both in Rionero).

==History== First inhabited by the Normans, who occupied the ancient castle near Sgarroni (Castrum Monticuli), it became, in the second half of the 19th century, a strategic point for brigands after Italian unification. It was the shelter for brigands such as Carmine Crocco and his subordinates Ninco Nanco (Giuseppe Summa), Giuseppe Caruso, Teodoro Gioseffi and Giovanni Fortunato. Nowadays it is a touristic place admired for its natural environment and for mineral waters, due to the presence of some extinct volcanoes.