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HISTORY & HERITAGE
Of all Italy’s regions, Basilicata is arguably the least well known. The region was originally known as Lucania, from the Lucanii tribe who were the first known settlers. Today, people from Basilicata still describe themselves as Lucanian. The Greeks invaded in the 7th century BC, establishing settlements at Siris, Metaponto and Heraclea, and the region became part of the Magna Graecia empire, which stretched across the foot of the boot of Italy and across to Sicily. Pythagoras was actually a citizen of Metapontum on the Ionaian coast of Italy. Many examples of Greek architecture and ancient religion remain.
By the 2nd century BC the area was under Roman rule. The Romans were the first to exploit the massive forests of the region. The Byzantians followed the Romans, giving the region the name of Basilicata, ‘Land of Princes’. Over the following centuries Basilicata was conquered by Normans, Swabians and Angevins – between them establishing a feudal system which kept this isolated region in deep poverty. The Spanish were the next to take over Basilicata in 1500. It remained in Spanish hands for the next two hundred years. It became an official province of Spain, with Matera even being declared the capital in 1663.
Basilicata became part of the unified kingdom of Italy in 1860, but poverty remained and the area was notorious for its brigands and bandits. Matera gained a measure of fame during the Second World War when it became the first Italian city to fight against the German occupation in September 1943. After the Italian land reforms following the Second World War, the economic fortunes of the area slowly started to improve and in 1952 the inhabitants of Matera’s Sassi cave districts were re-housed. In 1994, UNESCO declared the Sassi di Matera a world heritage site.
Now Basilicata is becoming a popular tourist destination as well as a favourite Hollywood film location. As Francis Ford Coppola, who is of Lucanian descent himself said, Basilicata is:
“A region of Italy that is still preserved, that is still authentic, that is still unpolluted … Italy undisturbed, the way it really was”
Matera’s Sassi cave distric
An example of the art typical to the area
