Palazzo Netta

The building, abandoned after the earthquake of 1980, was the residence of an important noble family, the Netta , whose ancestor, Thomas, moved there from Gravina di Puglia during the first half of 1600 following the Orsini, Dukes of Venosa, Princes of Altamura and Taranto who owned Vallata up to when it passed to Filippo Bernualdo Orsini II, the last Prince of the Land of Vallata (1789). The building rises along a slope and spreads over four levels, three of which partially buried and accessible also externally through three separate entrances. The first of these is used as a cellar and is characterised by being partly built in caves, dug into the ground, supported by a system of arches, pillars and stone partitions. A flight of stairs connects this level internally to the upper level used as a granary and pantry. This level is actually on two different heights; the portion of the floor above the caves is raised by 113 cm. A later extension included the construction of a gallery (dug into the ground) and a flight of stairs leading to the third level and more precisely to the hallway of the building. From this room, whose main entrance is the main doorway, one has access (entering from the doorway) on the left to the stables, partially underground, and on the right to the living area comprising the entrance, the kitchen, the dining room, a small study, also accessible from the hallway, and a series of rooms inside one of which a bathroom has been created by means of panels. From the hallway, a set of stairs opposite the entrance leads to the top level. These staircases, located in the loggia, a typical element of the aristocratic building of the valley, are the only connection between the third and the fourth level, which is used for the bedrooms and a large living room. As already mentioned, the building is the result of repeated transformations and extensions, linked to the economic and political fortune of the family, the dating of which, unfortunately, can only be guessed at as there is no historical documentation.