A small town in the province of Potenza, situated overlooking the valley of the river Sauro, Guardia Perticara is located in an area inhabited since ancient times: in the district of San Vito, in fact, traces have been unearthed funeral accomplices dating back to the Bronze Age (XIV century B.C.) and other pieces of evidence till the V century, that document the costumes and uses of the Enotri, an ancient Italic population that, lived in these areas, even before the colonization of Magna Graecia on the coasts of Southern Italy. In the X century, the inhabitants were subject to a strong Greek-orthodox influence, but because of a series of continuous raids by the Saracens, it remained uninhabited for a long period. In 1237 the "castrum Perticari" appears among the list of the possessions of the diocese of Tricarico. After the domain of the Anjou, the Swabians took over the rule of the town, proclaimed it fief and ceded it between several local noble families.
The present town's name derives from the Lombard habit in dividing their estates into "areas delimited by poles", entrusting the farm management to the settlers.
Sites of Interest:
- the Old town center, made up of narrow streets and stone houses, which lean one against each other;
- the ruins of the Castle;
- the Church of St. Anthony, built between the XVI and the XVII century, in which houses a painting of the Annunciation of Biagio Guarnacci and another one representing the Immaculate, of an unknown author;
- the Mother Church of St. Nicholas the Great, which was severely damaged by the earthquakes of 1857 and 1980. Inside are preserved valuable paintings by an unknown artist;
- the rural Church of St. Mary of Sauro, dating from the XIV century, it has been completely renovated in the early XX century.