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BASILICATA. 



BASILICATA. 



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the Ofanto ia a very inconsiderable river and readily fordable at any 

 point. In the lower part of its course it crosses the plain of Apulia. 

 A little to the north of Canosa are the ruins of Cannae. [BARI, 

 TERRA DI.) This part of the river has a very tortuous course. The 

 direct distance from the source to the mouth of the river is only about 

 70 miles, but the length of the stream along its winding course is 

 above 120 miles. The Ofanto has no feeders of importance. 



The region of Mount Vultur is isolated between the two little rivers 

 Fiume d'Atella and Rendina, which enter the Ofanto, the former 

 below Rionero, the latter a little above Lavello. It extends north 

 and south from 15 to 20 miles, and it has a breadth of about 20 miles. 

 Mount Vultur itself is situated between Melfi and Rionero and is 

 above 3000 feet high. It is entirely of volcanic formation, but its 

 active period must be ascribed to an age long antecedent to the com- 

 mencement of historical records. There is now no appearance of 

 lava-streams in any part of the mountain. Lava exists of course in 

 abundance, but in a form so compact as to resemble basalt, and its 

 cavities abound with haiiyne or latialite, which is also found in the 

 volcanic formations of Vesuvius, and Andernach on the Rhine. The 

 lower parts of the mountain are clothed with dense forests, above 

 which the most ancient crater is reached. The edge of this crater is 

 broken by several gaps, and has the appearance of a circle of hills. Its 

 interior is covered in parts with magnificent beeches and oaks, and in 

 others are large patches of rich pasture. Higher up is another crater 

 and a conical peak which forms the apex of the mountain. On the 

 edge of this crater, the interior of which is also covered with forest 

 timber, ia a Franciscan convent. The views from the summit over 

 the rich and sombre scenery of Mount Vultur itself, and of the neigh- 

 bouring ridges of the Apennines, parted by the dark glen of the wind- 

 ing Ofanto, are peculiarly fine. The prospect extends eastward to 

 Monte Gargano and the Adriatic. The line joining Mount Vultur and 

 the Island of Ischia, another extinct volcano to the west of the Bay 

 of Naples, passes through Vesuvius, as remarked by Dr. Daubeny ; 

 and it is only when the igneous caverns of Vesuvius are violently 

 excited that any evidences of volcanic action show themselves in Mount 

 Vultur. Then earthquakes of greater or less violence are felt, and 

 from two small lakes in the largest crater carbonic and other gases 

 are emitted and columns of water thrown up. A visitation of earth- 

 quake took place on the 14th of August 1851, which was attended with 

 very disastrous effects : these will be more particularly alluded to in 

 our notice of the towns of this district. No less than twelve distinct 

 cones have been traced upon Mount Vultur. The mountain is 

 separated by a deep chasm or ravine in the lava from the town of 

 Melfi on the north, but a long ridge projects in that direction, which 

 seems to have caused the great bend in the Ofanto before this river 

 enters the plain of Apulia. 



Mount Vultur is 50 miles distant from the mouth of the Sele in 

 the Gulf of Salerno, and 45 miles from the mouth of the Ofauto. 

 Violent storms often occur in the mountain, and impetuous hurricanes 

 frequently sweep through its ravines and valleys. A violent wind 

 sweeping down from the mountain across the parched plain of Apulia 

 is said to have materially contributed to Hannibal's victory at Cannae 

 over the Romans, who were so posted that the dust blew into their 

 eyes. Mount Vultur has been immortalised by Horace in his account 

 of a youthful adventure upon it ('Carm.' iii. 4). In the tufa of the 

 mountain are many large caverns, which have often been the haunts 

 of banditti ; the mountain caves near Barile are inhabited. 



The great bulk of the province of Basilicata lies east of the main 

 Apennine ridge and between it and the Gulf of Taranto. Four rivers 

 (Bradano, Basiento, Agri, and Sinno) run through it from west to east, 

 forming as many long valleys, bounded by offsets from the main chain 

 of the Apennines. These offsets slope down gradually towards the 

 sea, until they sink into low plains at the distance of about 10 miles 

 from the coast. These were the plains of Metapontum and Heraclea, 

 renowned in former times as now for their fertility in corn. 



The Bradano, the ancient Bradanut, rises in a lake near Atella, 

 which gives name to a splendid baronial mansion of the 13th century 

 (Caatel di Lago Pesole) belonging to the princely family of Pamphili. 

 The river flows south-east ia a deep valley, gathering the waters of the 

 main Apennine chain as far as Potenza on the west, and those of the 

 Murgie di Gravina and Altainura on the north. Its principal feeders on 

 the north are the Vasentello, which forms part of the boundary towards 

 the Terra di Ban, and the Gravina. The whole course of the river 

 from its source to ita mouth in the Gulf of Taranto is about 70 miles. 

 In ancient times the Bradanus divided Lucania and the territories of 

 Tarontum and Metapontum from Calabria, as it now does for a short 

 distance above its mouth the provinces of Basilicata and Terra di Bari. 

 In the plain on its right bank, about 4 miles from the sea, are the 

 ruins of a Doric temple, forming the only remains of the ancient 

 Metapontum, one of the most ancient and powerful cities of Magna 

 Graecia and the death-place of Pythagoras. Between the Bradano and 

 the Basiento, which rivers are only 4 miles distant from each other, is 

 a square tower called Torre-a-Mare, built on the sea-shore by the Ange- 

 vine kings aa a station for coast-guards. The sea however has receded 

 all along thin coast, owing to the deposits of the rivers, so that Torre- 

 a-Mare in now about a mile distant from the shore. The town of 

 Bemalda, which is fl miles from Torre-a-Mare in the interior, is chiefly 

 built of old materials carried away from the ruins of Metapontum. 



Corn is still the chief produce of this plain, and it formerly constituted 

 the great source of wealth of the people of Metapontum, whose medals 

 bear the wheat-sheaf as a mark of the fertility of the country. 



The Basiento, the ancient Casuentus, rises in the main ridge of the 

 Apennines near Potenza, and flowing nearly parallel to the Bradano 

 enters the Gulf of Taranto at a distance of about 5 miles from the 

 mouth of that river. The Basiento flows a little to the south of the 

 site of Metapontum, which stood in the plain between the two rivers. 

 It is crossed by a ferry in winter, and at a ford in summer, about 

 3 miles from the sea. The next river that crosses the plain to the 

 southward is the Salandrella, which rises at the base of Monte 

 Caperino, a secondary chain of the Apennines, to the east of Laureu- 

 zana, and flows parallel to the Basiento into the Gulf of Taranto. 

 By some the Salandrella is identified with the ancient Acalaudrus ; 

 but others suppose the Acalandrus to be represented by the Calaudro, 

 which falls into the gulf about 10 miles south from the mouth of the 

 Sinno, near Roseto in Calabria. Between the Salandrella and the 

 Agri, the next river to the south, the ground becomes uneven, and is 

 partly planted with olives, and partly covered with underwood. 



The Ayri, the ancient Aciris, rises in the Apennines near Marsico 

 Nuovo, and flows nearly east into the Gulf of Taranto below Policoro, 

 j the site of the ancient Heraclea. The ground near Policoro is hilly 

 j and well clothed with forests, in which the wild boar abounds. The 

 j bronze tables called Heraclean, now in the Museo Borbonico of Naples, 

 I were found near Policoro ; they are covered with inscriptions in Latin 

 and Greek. About 9 miles N.\V. from Policoro, between the village 

 of Tursi and the right bank of the Agri, ia the site of the first battle 

 which Pyrrhus fought against the Romans, B.C. 280. The bronzes of 

 Siris now in the British Museum were found much higher up the 

 valley of the Agri at a place called Saponara. The principal feeder of 

 tho Agri is the Basileto, which flowing from the mountains east of 

 Laurenzaua, joins it on the left bank west of Montalbano. The 

 Agri is a considerable river, and the only one in Basilicata on which a 

 ferry is kept in summer. Polieoro is a large house and farm, once 

 belonging to the Jesuits, and now to the Prince of Gerace. The estate 

 occupies the whole space between the Agri and the Sinno, about 4 

 miles in length, and from the sea to the hills inland, which is nearly 

 an equal distance. Above the hills the higher mountains of the interior 

 of Basilicata are seen, with the towns of Tursi, Piaticci, and Montalbauo. 

 The estate of Policoro is well cultivated, and produces every variety 

 of corn, vegetables, and fruit, besides pasture for large herds of cattle. 

 The principal revenue however arises from the oil and liquorice. 

 The country abounds with game of every sort, from the rabbit to the 

 deer and wild boar. The precise site of Heraclea is not known ; the 

 Aciris flowed near it on the north and the Siris on the south. A few 

 stones, fragments of statues, medals, and also earthen vases have been 

 found about a mile from Policoro. 



The Sinno, the last river of any importance that crosses the plain, 

 is the ancient Sirii. It rises in a deep gloomy valley of the Monti 

 Sirini, as the Apennines east of Lagouegro are called, and winding 

 between high ridges first to the north-east and then to the south-east, 

 it enters the Gulf of Taranto six miles south from the Agri after a course 

 of about 60 miles. It receives the Serapotamo on the left bank, and 

 the Rubbio and Sermento from the Monte Polliuo on the right. In 

 the lower part of its course the Sinno, now as in ancient times, flows 

 through luxuriant forests. The port of Siris was probably at tho 

 mouth of the Sinno, where there is now an open road frequented by 

 vessels, which take in cargoes of corn, liquorice, and other produce 

 of the country. South of the Sinno the mountains close upon the sea- 

 coast. The whole coast of Basilicata from the Bradano to the frontier 

 near Bocca Imperiale, which village is in the province of Calabria, is 

 about 24 miles in length. The little river Cauna, 3 miles S. from the 

 Sinno, forms part of the boundary between Basilicata and Calabria Citra. 

 The alluvial plain which intervenes between the coast and the 

 lower slopes of the secondary ridges of the Apennines has a width 

 of 4 to 10 miles, and is exceedingly fertile, yielding large quantities of 

 liquorice, wheat, maize, hemp, tobacco, olive-oil, and silk. These 

 articles form the principal exports of the province. The rivers above 

 noticed, and indeed all the rivers of the province, are at certain 

 seasons of the year swollen to impetuous torrents, and carry down 

 large quantities of mud, which being deposited along the coast is 

 gradually adding to the width of the plain. Indeed it is highly 

 probable that the entire plain is the ' handiwork ' of the rivers. 



The interior of Basilicata is mountainous and wild. The surface is 

 furrowed by innumerable glens and valleys, each traversed by a 

 torrent. The mountains and hills are occasionally clothed with tim- 

 ber, but in general the aspect is bare and stony. The principal 

 timber-tree is the pine, from which turpentine is extracted. The 

 largest forests in the province of Basilioata are those along the Sinno, 

 those about Mount Vultur, and those that surround the Costel di Lago 

 Pesole, near Atella ; these last cover an area of above 20,000 acres. 

 Hogs, goats, and sheep are fed in considerable numbers in the woods and 

 mountain pastures, where they are exposed to danger from wolves which 

 descend from the Apennines. A good deal of silk is collected in the val- 

 leys. The mule is preferred to the horse as in all mountainous countries, 

 and is here a superior animal, for the horses are of very inferior breed 

 and small. Horned cattle are not very numerous. Maize is the prevailing 

 grain crop, and bread made of it is the principal food of the inhabitnnts. 



