Matteo Salvini hopes to end 25 years of centre-Left rule in a southern Italian region when it goes to the polls on Sunday, in the latest test of his Right-wing party’s popularity ahead of European Parliament elections in May.

The League is contesting the elections in Basilicata, a region that occupies the instep of the Italian boot, in alliance with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party and Brothers of Italy, a small far-Right party.

The under-developed region, which boasts mountains and olive groves, is best known for the ancient town of Matera, where the inhabitants used to live in “sassi”, cave-like dwellings that in recent years have been turned into boutique hotels and restaurants.

Its distinctive landscape and centuries of history earned it the plaudit of being named as one of Europe’s two Capitals of Culture for 2019, along with Plovdiv in Bulgaria.