The Masseria Fortificata in the hamlet of San Basilio, a few kilometres from Pisticci, is a fortified farmstead that began as a Norman military structure under Roger I in the eleventh century. In 1133 it was converted into an abbey by Basilian monks — the Greek-rite monks who established communities across Calabria and Basilicata during the Byzantine period — and it retains elements of both its military and religious phases.
The building is in partial ruin but the scale and setting are evocative. The surrounding countryside is the genuine Lucanian interior — sparse, wild, and largely unchanged since the Norman conquest. Visiting requires some determination since signage is minimal, but it is worth the effort for anyone interested in Norman Italy or Byzantine monasticism.