The city is situated on the site of the ancient Numistri, at the foot of the Apennines, the scene of a battle between Hannibal and Marcellus in the second Punic war.

The city has a cathedral; and it was in its castle that Queen Joan of Naples was murdered on the orders of her adopted son Charles III of Naples.

The city of Muro Lucano is composed of the old town and the surrounding areas of Cappuccini to the north and Giardini (meaning gardens) to the south. It is 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Potenza, the chief city of the province. Muro Lucano rises 650 metres (2,130 ft) above sea level, occupies a surface area of 125.7 square kilometres (48.5 sq mi) and in 2005 had a population of approximately 6,000. The population, which was over 10,000 in the 1950s, has been declining steadily through the years due to social changes, lack of local work and large scale emigration. There are about 2,200 families with an average of close to 2.7 people per family.

The territory of the municipality is between 300 and 1,450 metres (980 and 4,760 ft) above sea level. The city lies on a slope over the Muro ravine, with quaint houses built on terraces. The name of the city comes from the medieval wall (in Italian muro) that surrounded the medieval centre.

Murese, the city's dialect, is spoken only in the immediate vicinity and can be difficult for Italian speakers to comprehend.

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