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Basilicata
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Basilicata
Basilicatabäzēlēkä'tä, region (1991 pop. 610,528), 3,856 sq mi (9,987 sq km), S Italy, bordering on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the southwest and on the Gulf of Taranto in the southeast. It forms the instep of the Italian boot. Potenza is the capital of Basilicata, which is divided into Potenza and Matera provs. (named for their capitals). The region is crossed by the Lucanian Apennines; its main river is the Bradano. Because of a dry climate and a scarcity of groundwater, farming is difficult, although it is the occupation of most inhabitants of the generally poor region. Olives, plums, and cereals are grown, and sheep and goats are raised. There is also some fishing. The transportation network is very limited, and commerce and industry are minimal, except in the Pisticci zone where a chemical plant is located. Natural gas also has been discovered near Matera. Basilicata corresponds to most of ancient Lucania and to part of ancient Samnium. Rome took the region in 272 B.C.; it later passed in turn to the Lombards, to the Byzantines, and (11th cent.) to the Norman duchy of Apulia, of which Melfi (now in Basilicata) was the capital. Although later a part of the kingdom of Naples, Basilicata was controlled by virtually independent feudal lords. Malaria, still a scourge on the coasts, caused the flourishing coastal towns to be abandoned in the early Middle Ages. In the 20th cent. there have been reclamation works and social and land reforms in Basilicata, but many of the inhabitants have emigrated to foreign countries (especially the United States) or have taken jobs in the industrial cities of N Italy. The region has suffered numerous earthquakes.

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Wikipedia search results for: Basilicata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Basilicata is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a longer one to the southeast on the Gulf of Taranto on the Ionian Sea between Calabria in the southwest and Apulia in the northeast. The region can be thought of as the "instep" of Italy, with Calabria functioning as the "toe" and Apulia the "heel". The region covers 9,992 km² and in 2008 had a population of less than 600,000 inhabitants. The regional capital is Potenza. The region is...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Basilicata
Results 1 - 7  of 7
  • Matera

    Matera, city (1991 pop. 54,919), capital of Matera prov., in Basilicata, S Italy, in the Apennines. It is an agricultural and industrial center with woolen textile mills and ceramics and food-...

  • Mezzogiorno

    Mezzogiorno, region of S Italy. The Mezzogiorno comprises the modern Italian regions of Abruzzi, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. The ter...

  • Potenza

    Potenza, city (1990 pop. 65,714), capital of Basilicata and of Potenza prov., S Italy, in the Apennines. It is an agricultural, commercial, and light industrial center. Founded in the 2d cent....

  • Melfi

    Melfi, town (1991 pop. 15,757), in Basilicata, S Italy. It is an agricultural and tourist center noted for its wine. In 1041 it was made the first capital of the Norman county of Apulia. At Me...

  • Naples, kingdom of

    Naples, kingdom of, former state, occupying the Italian peninsula south of the former Papal States. It comprised roughly the present regions of Campania, Abruzzi, Molise, Basilicata, Apulia, a...

  • Lucania

    Lucania, ancient region of S Italy. It was bounded on the east by the Gulf of Tarentum (now Taranto) and by Apulia, on the north by Samnium and Campania, on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and...

  • Italy

    Italy

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