Acerenza (Lucano: Lagerénze) is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.

[3] With its strategic position 800 metres (2,600 ft) above sea-level, Acerenza has been sacked by a series of invaders.

Later, it was taken by the Ostrogoths (it was mentioned as an important fortress during the Gothic Wars) and then the Lombards, who fortified the town.

In 1041, after a period in which it was fought over by the Principality of Salerno and the Byzantine Empire, it was conquered again by the Norman Robert Guiscard.

Through marriage the duchy of Acerenza was inherited by the family of the Prince Belmonte, in whose line the title has descended to the present day.