IT - Basilicata

Basilicata is a region of southern Italy.

To know:
The toponym Basilicata is attested for the first time around the tenth century. The origin of this name is often associated with the Greek term Basilikos, the name by which the Byzantine rulers of the region were called. Basilikos in Greek means “official of the king” and derives from another Greek word: Basileus (King). A more accredited thesis, the name derives from the Basilica of Acerenza, whose bishop had jurisdiction over the entire territory. This name appears for the first time in the Catalog of the Norman barons of 1154. Another hypothesis, less credited, is that the origin of the name is linked to that of the Byzantine Emperor Basil II Bulgaroctone.

Territories and tourist destinations:
Potentino – The territory of the city of Potenza extends in the western part of the region up to the short stretch of Tyrrhenian coast on the Gulf of Policastro and Monte Pollino which marks the border with Calabria.
Val Basento – Basento, the longest river in Basilicata, has its sources in Mount Arioso just north of the capital. In its high course it has dense woods. The vegetation becomes sparser in the stretch that affects the territory of Matera up to the extremely barren landscapes that accompany its lower course. The inhabited centers are perched high up and nobody lies in the valley floor. Among these, Bernalda deserves a mention for his urban plan wanted and studied with the utmost care in 1492 by the secretary of King Alfonso II of Aragon,
Lucanian Dolomites – The Lucanian Dolomites are reliefs strongly eroded by atmospheric agents with spiers with imaginative shapes reminiscent of the Triveneto Dolomites. The Gallipoli Cognato forest, set up as a natural park, extends to an altitude of about 1,300 m between the deep gorges dug by the Rio di Caperrino, a tributary of the Basento and is mainly made up of broad-leaved woods. The park offices are located in the small center of Accettura. Other inhabited centers of the Lucanian Dolomites are Pietrapertosa, between suggestive rocky landscapes and Castelmezzano, counted in 2007 by the magazine “Budget Travel” among the best places in the world not yet affected by mass tourism.

Vulture – Vulture is the northern territory of Basilicata wedged between Campania and Puglia. It takes its name from the homonymous Mount (1326 m), a volcano now extinct. Venosa, counted among “The most beautiful villages in Italy” has an interesting artistic heritage as well as Melfi, linked to the memory of William I of Altavilla, who in 1042 took it away from the Byzantines by electing it as their residence. The small center of Monticchio is a holiday resort thanks to its idyllic surroundings marked by a pair of volcanic lakes at the foot of Mount Vulture.

Laudemio lake in the Sirino massif
Val d’Agri – A plateau that starts from 600 m a.s.l. and follows the course of the Agri river to its mouth in the Gulf of Taranto. The valley is part of the territory of the Lucano-Val d’Agri-Lagonegrese Apennine National Park which embraces most of the Lucan Apennines up to the Sirino massif where there are ski resorts. In the valley there are the ruins of Grumentum, a Roman city abandoned in the 8th century AD by its inhabitants following the continuous raids by Saracen pirates. The excavated material is kept in the National Museum of the Alta Val d’Agri set up in the nearby center of Grumento Nova. Among the other villages in the park, Brienza should be mentioned at the confluence of the Val d’Agri with that of Melandro and surrounded by chestnut and oak woods, Castelsaraceno, perched on the slopes of Mount Raparolo at 900 m. asl, Lagonegro at the foot of Monte Sirino and near the idyllic Laudemio lake, the southernmost lake of glacial origin in Europe, Satriano, home to the academy of the Lucanian pepper, rich in murals and inspired by the banks of the Melandro river, the all set in the national park of the Lucanian Apennines.

Lucanian coast on the Tyrrhenian Sea – Basilicata faces, for a short stretch, the Gulf of Policastro which opens onto the Tyrrhenian Sea and corresponds to the territory of the municipality of Maratea located at the top, in a panoramic position overlooking the gulf. Seaside resorts of this particularly high and steep stretch of coast are Marina di Maratea, Acquafredda, Castrocucco, located on the coastal plain created by the river Noce on the border with Calabria, Fiumicello and Porto, with a small mooring.
About 12 kilometers away from Maratea we have Trecchina, a small village located 500 m above sea level, halfway between the sea and the mountains. Characteristic of Trecchina are the Piazza del Popolo adorned with lush trees and landscaped gardens and the medieval village called Castello.

View of the village of Rotonda, inside the Pollino national park
Pollino Massif – The village of Rotonda is located in the heart of the park and is home to the administrative offices. There has also been set up a paleontological and naturalistic museum where the remains of an Elephas antiquus italicus and a Hippopotamus antiquus are exposed, The surroundings of San Severino Lucano, a village at 877 m a.s.l. they are characterized by dense woods with a rich fauna and interspersed with luxuriant streams, the main of which is the Frido, other centers on the northern side of the Pollino are Castelluccio Superiore and Viggianello. Latronico has a thermal establishment.

Materano – The territory of the city of Matera occupies the eastern part of Basilicata and consists of two different parts: a hilly area, a natural continuation of the Apulian Murgia and a flat area on the Gulf of Taranto shown below. The city of Matera is renowned worldwide for its “stones” The Murgia Materana park was established in 1990 to protect the “stones of Matera and the numerous cave churches scattered throughout its territory. (About 150) founded by religious orders both Orthodox and Catholic rites. Other centers of interest are Tricarico with a very well preserved medieval center, Miglionico dominated by the castle of Malconsiglio where in 1485 the conspiracy of the barons was ordered against King Ferdinand I of Naples. and the center of Montescaglioso with a large Benedictine abbey dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo.

Lido di Metaponto
Metapontino – The flat area overlooking the Gulf of Taranto. It is characterized by a sandy coast close to which vast pine forests extend. Bosco Pantano di Policoro is a WWF oasis. Also near the modern village of Policoro is the site of Eraclea, the city of Lucan Magna Grecia and the National Archaeological Museum of Siritide where finds and excavation material ranging from the Neolithic to the Roman age are kept, Tursi was an important center during the Byzantine reconquest of the tenth century and in 968 it was the capital of the thema of Lucania. Metaponto was another important city of Magna Grecia where the philosopher Pythagoras lived until his death in 490 BC. Today Metaponto is an important seaside resort.
Urban centers
Power
Lagonegro
Matera
Melfi
Venosa