913 



BASILICATA. 



BASIN. 



014 



far from the right bank of the Ofanto, is a small place of 3000 

 inhabitants, but historically remarkable as the death-place of Conrad, 

 in A.D. 1254. Muro, an episcopal town of 7000 inhabitants, is situated 

 near the western border of the province in a deep ravine screened by 

 wild and dreary heights, 16 miles S.W. from Melfi. The only 

 building worth notice in the town is the castle, which stands on a 

 height overlooking the ravine, and is historically famous for the death 

 of the son of the emperor Frederick II. by Isabella of England, 

 and for the murder of Joanna I., queen of Naples, May 12th, 1382. 

 Palazzo, a small town of 4000 inhabitants, situated in a fine 

 grazing country, 17 miles E. by S. from Melfi, is by some considered 

 to mark the site of the Font Bandutice of Horace, which however is 

 placed by others near the poet's Sabine farm ,at Tivoli. Abtulia de" 

 Banzi, a little farther south on the road to Acerenza, is identified with 

 the ancient Baniia. (Hor. 'Carm.' iii. 4, 15V Acerenza, 20 miles S.E. 

 from Melfi, between two head-streams of the Bradano, still justifies 

 by its position Horace's picturesque description " celsse nidum A che- 

 ronlite ' ' (we notice this town here to complete the list of places in this 

 classic neighbourhood, although it belongs to the district of Potenza). 

 Acerenza, in conjunction with Matera, gives title to an archbishop, 

 who rwides in the latter city. It is defended by a strong castle, and 

 has about 4000 inhabitants. On the watershed between the Rendina 

 and the Bradano, to the north of Acerenza, the armies of Marcellus 

 and Hannibal encamped at the opening of the campaign of B.C. 208 ; 

 and Marcellus was killed in the neighbourhood by a party of Numi- 

 dian horse whilst he was reconnoitring the enemy's position. 

 Petcojiagano, 18 miles S.W. from Melfi, in the most western corner of 

 tie province, is a small town of 4000 inhabitants, built on the top 

 of a high hill. Rapolla, on the eastern slope of Mount Vultur, 

 within a little distance south of Melfi, has a population of 3300. This 

 town in union with Melfi gives title to an archbishop. It was almost 

 entirely destroyed by the earthquake of 1851. Sionero, a town of 

 10,000 inhabitants, is situated on the slopes of two hills and the 

 valley between them, 8 miles S. from Melfi. Before the late earth- 

 quake, which demolished nearly half of the town, it had three 

 churches, one of which was collegiate. Ttmaa, an episcopal city, 9 miles 

 K. by S. from Melfi, occupies the site of the ancient Venusia. It is a 

 well-built town, prettily situated on a platform surrounded by 

 several hills. Near the principal gateway of the city are the ruins 

 of a castle built here in the 15th century ; part of the interior is now 

 occupied as a tavern and stables. In the earthquake of 1851 many 

 houses in Venosa were levelled and the ground in the neighbourhood 

 c>Iened in rugged fissures. The principal building in the city is the 

 Benedictine abbey of the Most Holy Trinity, founded by Robert 

 Guiscard and consecrated in 1059 by Pope Nicholas II. A marble 

 sarcophagus in the Abbey-church contains the remains of Robert 

 Guiscard and his brothers, and another contains the body of his first 

 wife Alberada. Near the abbey is the unfinished church which the 

 Benedictines erected with the materials of the Roman amphitheatre 

 of Venusia ; the building, which is of vast size and built without 

 cement, has the appearance of a magnificent ruin. Venusia was origin- 

 ally a Samnite town, but it had received a Roman colony before the 

 invasion of Pyrrhus. It afforded shelter to the scanty remains of the 

 Roman army which fled with the consul Varro after the rout at 

 Canna:, B.C. 216; and again in B.C. 209, the Roman army under Mar- 

 cellus after three severe engagements with Hannibal in the plains of 

 Canusiurn retired behind its walls. The poet Horace was born here 

 B.C. 65 ; and in one of the streets there is a column surmounted by 

 his bust. An aqueduct supplies the fountains of the town, the 

 handsome market-square of which was terribly disfigured by the late 

 earthquake. There are few remains of antiquity at Venosa. 



The district of Potenza comprises the main ridge and eastern 

 slopes of the southern Apennines between Muro and Moliterno, and 

 also the western projection of the province down to the fork of the 

 Bianco and Platano. Potenza, the capoluogo of the district and 

 capital of the whole province, is situated on the crest of a hill near 

 the main Apeimine ridge and above the left bank of the upper 

 Basicnto, 85 miles E. by S. from Naples, and has a population of 8500. 

 It is surrounded by walls and is otherwise fortified. The chief civil 

 and criminal court of the province sits in Potenza, which also 

 possesses a handsome cathedral of the Doric order, two collegiate 

 churches, an ecclesiastical college, and several convents. This town 

 in conjunction with Marsico gives title to a bishop. The name 

 Potenza is a provincial pronunciation probably of Potentia, an ancient 

 city which stood in the plain below the modern town, and the site of 

 which is identified by coins, inscriptions, and ruins found on the 

 npot. Ariyliano, situated on the slope of a hill 11 miles N. from 

 Potenza, in a fine pastoral district watered by a feeder of the Platauo, 

 baa a collocate church, a college, and about 9000 inhabitants. 

 Briaua, on the right bank of the Bianco, close upon the western 

 boundary of the province, 14 miles S.W. from Potenza, has two 

 churches and 4300 inhabitants. Calvello, 12 miles S. from Potenza, 

 near the southern head-stream of the Basiento, has a population of 

 Laurenzana, 15 miles S.E. from Potenza : population 5000. 

 Martico Num-o gives title to a bishop in conjunction with Potenza, 

 from which it is distant 20 miles S. by W. It stands on the eastern 

 side of the crest of the Apennines and on the right bank of the Agri, 

 which rises a little north of the town : population 7500. At a 



OEOO. DIV. VOL. I. 



distance of 4 miles E. by S. is JlJarsico Vdere (population 3000), which 

 some have supposed to represent the ancient AMliimm Afarsicum. 

 Saponara, situated on a high hill, oil the right bank of the Agri, 25 

 miles S. from Potenza, has 4000 inhabitants. At a short distance 

 below this town are remains of an amphitheatre and some other 

 structures, said to mark the site of the ancient Grumentum. Vietri, a 

 small village of 2800 inhabitants, 15 miles W. from Potenza, is 

 supposed to occupy the site of Campl Veteres, where Tiberius 

 Gracchus either fell in battle or was betrayed into the hands of Mago, 

 the Carthaginian general, B.C. 212. Yiggiano, a market-town of 5000 

 inhabitants, is situated on a rocky hill, 21 miles S. by E. from Potenza 

 and 3 miles N. from Saponara. 



(Smith's Greek and Roman Geography ; Blewitt's Handbook for South 

 Italy; McGregor's Statistics; Balbi's Geographic; Craven's Tour 

 through the Southern Provinces of Naples ; Swinburn's Two Sicilies.) 



BASIN is a term frequently used in geographical description. It 

 may be applied to any collection of water, as a sea, lake, or river ; and 

 comprehends in every case all the countries which are drained by the 

 waters that run into such sea, lake, or river. 



It is instructive and useful to trace the boundaries of the basin of 

 a sea. If they run far inland, and comprehend a great extent of 

 country, the basin commonly contains large and fertile plains, main- 

 tains a numerous population, and has in some period of history made 

 considerable progress in civilisation. The Bay of Bengal may serve 

 as an instance. The boundary of its basin runs from Cape Comorin 

 along the western coast of the peninsula within the Gauges up to 

 20 N. lat., to the north of which it suddenly turns to the east, and 

 advancing from 74 to 82 E. long, encircles the countries drained by 

 the rivers Tapty and Nerbudda ; but at the source of the latter river 

 it again turns to the west, and running along its northern banks 

 returns to 74 E. long, under the parallel of 24. Afterwards it 

 follows the range of the Aravulli Mountains, and joins the Himalaya 

 by the elevated plain which extends between the Sutlej and Jumna, 

 where these rivers issue from the Himalaya range. The Himalaya 

 forms the boundary to its farthest extremity at the source of the 

 Brahmaputra, including the northern region traversed by the 

 Tsampoo ; and the boundary advances still farther to the east into 

 the unknown region where the rivers Irawaddy and Salueu rise. 

 Along the eastern bank of the latter river it runs southward to its 

 mouth, and then along the high lands of the peninsula of Malacca, 

 at the southern extremity of which it terminates opposite the island 

 of Singapore. Thus the basin of the Bay of Bengal comprehends 

 countries not much less than half of Europe in extent. Accordingly 

 we find not only that it is and ever has been much frequented by 

 vessels, but also that at a very early period civilisation made con- 

 siderable progress, and that at all times the arts of peace have been 

 greatly cultivated within the limits of this basin. No other similar 

 portion of the ocean has so large a basin as the Bay of Bengal except 

 the Hoang-Hai, or Yellow Sea, between the peninsula of Corea and 

 Northern China ; which, though considerably narrower and not exceed- 

 ing one-fourth of the extent of the Bay of Bengal, is the receptacle of 

 two of the greatest rivers of the globe, the Hoang-Ho and Yang-tse- 

 Kiang, the basins of which rivers are at least equal to the whole basin 

 of the Bay of Bengal. The civilisation of these countries goes back to 

 a very early epoch ; and it is a well-known fact that no country is so 

 thickly peopled as the northern part of China, nor is probably any 

 portion of the ocean traversed by so great a number of trading vessels 

 as the Hoang-Hai. 



On the other hand, if the basin of a sea is of small extent the sur- 

 rounding country is poor, its inhabitants backward in civilisation, and 

 its ports only occasionally resorted to by vessels. Such is the case 

 with the Arabian Gulf, the basin of which commonly coincides with 

 its shores, and in no place probably extends more than twenty miles 

 inland. It was only navigated to any extent when the trade between 

 Europe and India was carried on through Egypt, and was rarely used 

 by trading vessels after the discovery of the route round the Cape of 

 Good Hope. It is navigated regularly now by steamers, not however 

 for the commercial advantages of its basin, but because it forms part 

 of the highway by steam to Bombay. [RED SEA.] 



The basins of lakes offer likewise several varieties. Those which 

 are commonly called mountain lakes, but with more propriety valley 

 lakes, have in general a very narrow basin, being inclosed on all sides 

 by mountains. Many of them receive a river at one extremity, in 

 which case their basin runs up such river to its source ; and thus it 

 happens that mountain lakes have a very long and narrow basin, 

 stretching upwards from one extremity of it. This is the case with 

 many of the Scotch lakes and the Lake of Geneva, which receives the 

 Rhone. The lakes of plains have in general a much larger basin, as 

 they receive the drainage of a more extensive country, as the lakes 

 of North America and those of Russia. But the lakes which occur in 

 the sterile plains called steppes, and on that account are called lakes 

 of steppes, have frequently very large basins, even more extensive 

 than those of many portions of the ocean. Thus the basin of the 

 Caspian is probably almost as large as that of the Mediterranean, 

 and the basin of the Lake of Aral twice as large as that of the Persian 

 Gulf. [LAKE.] 



The term basin is still more frequently applied to the area drained 

 by rivers, especially eiuce the physical description of a country 



3 N 



