With its strategic position 800 metres (2,600 ft) above sea-level, the Acropolis of Acerenza (Potenza - Italy) has been included by ANCI (National Association of Italian Municipalities) in the club dedicated to "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy". It houses a splendid Romanesque-Gothic style cathedral dating back to the XI century, still keeping within its walls artistically interesting treasures and masterpieces, such as sculptural reliefs, frescoes and crypts. Moreover, this medieval hamlet presents a typical fortified structure surrounded by bastions, that used to protect the village from the frequent invasions.

According to a recent lighting renovation project of Acerenza’s historic center, three different areas have been identified as an architectural symbol of this village deserving a dedicated artistic lighting through a powerful though sustainable LED system. Finalized in 2013, the first intervention concerned the complete replacement of the exterior lighting of the Cathedral through a dedicated architectural lighting system; the second step regarded the creation of an illumination scheme aimed at highlighting the portals of the medieval village; the third phase foresaw the enhancement of the fortified bastions by the usage of LED color-changing projectors.

The appointed lighting designer, Arch. Claudio Vallario, in cooperation with  the planning supervisor and on-site lighting designer, Arch. Domenico Chiummiento, designed and coordinated the illumination system of Acerenza’s ancient walls with the purpose to enhance the irregular motion of the bastions and their antique consistency conveying solidity through the usage of an even and dynamic colour distribution pattern. To do so, 17 GRIVEN’s Danube MK2 RGBW with elliptical wide optics were installed along the fortified structure of Acerenza in order to provide the required lighting scheme.
   
Using 80 high brightness LEDs to achieve an extremely high light output, DANUBE MK2 can be installed in any position and orientation. The combination of RGBW LEDs offers an unprecedented astonishing white light output quality, as well as a wider variety of intermediate colour hues for an even broader range of application purposes. Narrow aperture spot lenses and wide elliptical distribution are part of the wide optional selection of optics groups available in order to meet the most demanding architectural needs. Making electrical installation equally straightforward, DANUBE MK2 has integral power supply unit and on board control, with selectable colour sequences, for standalone operation, with multiple units able to be linked and synchronised in this mode. Can also be controlled from any DMX512 controller. Remote firmware update (RFU) function is also featured.