Editing Basilicata (section)

==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2022}}

===Prehistory===
The first traces of human presence in Basilicata date to the late [[Paleolithic]], with findings of ''[[Homo erectus]]''. Late [[Cenozoic]] fossils, found at [[Venosa]] and other locations, include elephants, rhinoceros and species now extinct such as a [[saber-toothed cat]] of the [[genus]] ''[[Machairodus]]''. Examples of [[rock art]] from the [[Mesolithic]] have been discovered near [[Filiano]]. From the fifth millennium, people stopped living in caves and built settlements of huts up to the rivers leading to the interior ([[Tolve]], [[Tricarico]], [[Aliano]], [[Melfi]], [[Metaponto]]). In this period, [[Homo sapiens#Anatomical modernity|anatomically modern humans]] lived by cultivating cereals and animal husbandry ([[Bovinae]] and [[Caprinae]]). [[Chalcolithic]] sites include the grottoes of [[Latronico]] and the funerary findings of the Cervaro grotto near [[Lagonegro]].

The first known stable market center of the [[Apennine culture]] on the sea, consisting of huts on the promontory of {{ill|Capo la Timpa|it|Area archeologica di Capo la Timpa|vertical-align=sup}}, near to [[Maratea]], dates to the [[Bronze Age]]. The first indigenous [[Iron Age]] communities lived in large villages in plateaus located at the borders of the plains and the rivers, in places fitting their breeding and agricultural activities. Such settlements include that of [[Tursi]], known at the time as Anglona, located between the fertile valleys of [[Agri (river)|Agri]] and [[Sinni (river)|Sinni]], of [[Siris (Magna Graecia)|Siris]] and, on the coast of the [[Ionian Sea]], of Incoronata-San Teodoro. The first presence of Greek colonists, coming from [[list of islands of Greece|the Greek islands]] and [[Anatolia]], date from the late eighth century BC.

There are virtually no traces of survival of the 11th–8th century BC archaeological sites of the settlements (aside from a necropolis at [[Castelluccio culture|Castelluccio]] on the coast of the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]]): this was perhaps caused by the increasing presence of Greek colonies, which changed the balance of the trades.

===Ancient history===
[[File:Lucania da The Historical Atlas, by William R. Shepherd, 1911.png|thumb|left|The ancient region of [[Lucania]]]]
In ancient historical times, the region was originally known as [[Lucania]], named for the [[Lucanians|Lucani]], an [[Oscan language|Oscan-speaking]] population from [[central Italy]].

Starting from the late eighth century BC, the Greeks established a settlement first at [[Siris (Magna Graecia)|Siris]], founded by fugitives from [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]]. Then with the foundation of [[Metaponto]] from [[Achaeans (Homer)|Achaean]] colonists, they started the conquest of the whole Ionian coast. There were also indigenous [[Oenotrians|Oenotrian]] foundations on the coast, which exploited the nearby presence of Greek settlements, such as [[Velia]] and [[Policastro Bussentino|Pyxous]], for their maritime trades. The region became one of the centers of [[Magna Graecia]], with the foundation along its coasts of many Greek city-states ([[Polis|póleis]]).

The first contacts between the Lucanians and the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] date from the latter half of the fourth century BC. After the conquest of [[Taranto]] in 272, Roman rule was extended to the whole region: the [[Appian Way]] reached [[Brindisi]] and the colonies of Potentia (modern [[Potenza]]) and [[Grumentum]] were founded.

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Robert Guiscard claimed as a Duke.jpg|thumb|[[Pope Nicholas II]] investing [[Robert Guiscard]] as duke in [[Melfi]]]]
After the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]] in 476, Basilicata fell to Germanic rule, which ended in the mid-6th century when the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] [[Gothic War (535–554)|reconquered it]] from the [[Ostrogoths]] between 536 and 552 during the apocalyptic Byzantine-Gothic war under the leadership of Byzantine generals Belisarius and Narses. The region, deeply Christianized since as early as the 5th century, became part of the [[Lombards|Lombard]] [[Duchy of Benevento]] founded by the invading Lombards between 571 and 590.

In the following centuries, [[Saracen]] raids led part of the population to move from the plain and coastal settlements to more protected centers located on hills. The towns of [[Tricarico]] and [[Tursi]] were under Muslim rule for a short period: later the "Saracen" population would be expelled.<ref>{{cite book|publisher=Società napoletana di storia patria|title=Archivio storico per le province napoletane|url=https://archive.org/details/archiviostoricop25rdepuoft|year=1876}}</ref> The region was conquered once more for Byzantium from the Saracens and the Lombards in the late 9th century, with the campaigns of [[Nikephoros Phokas the Elder]] and his successors, and became part of the theme of [[Longobardia]]. In 968 the ''[[theme (Byzantine district)|theme]]'' of [[Lucania]] was established, with the capital at Tursikon (Tursi).

In the 11th century, Basilicata, together with the rest of much of [[southern Italy]], was conquered by the [[Normans]]. [[Melfi]] became the first capital of the County of Apulia (later [[County of Apulia and Calabria]]) in 1043, where [[Robert Guiscard]] was named "Duke" by [[Pope Nicholas II]]. Inherited by the [[Hohenstaufen]], [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] reorganized the administrative structure of his predecessors and the [[Justiciarate|Justiciarate of Basilicata]], whose borders coincided almost entirely with the actual region, was created. In Melfi, the Emperor promulgated the ''Liber Augustalis'' (commonly known as ''[[Constitutions of Melfi]]''), code of laws for the [[Kingdom of Sicily]]. The [[Swabians]] were ousted in the 13th century by the [[Capetian House of Anjou]]. Since then, Basilicata began to lose importance and was marked by an irreversible socio-political decline.

===Modern and contemporary times===
[[File:Banda Totaro.jpg|thumb|left|Band of brigands from Basilicata, {{circa|1860}}]]
In 1485, Basilicata was the seat of plotters against King [[Ferdinand I of Naples]], the so-called ''[[conspiracy of the Barons]]'', which included the [[House of Sanseverino|Sanseverino]] of Tricarico, the [[House of Caracciolo|Caracciolo]] of [[Melfi]], the Gesualdo of [[Caggiano]], the {{ill|Orsini Del Balzo|it|vertical-align=sup}} of [[Altamura]] and [[Venosa]] and other anti-Aragonese families. Later, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] stripped most of the barons of their lands, replacing them with the [[House of Carafa|Carafa]], Revertera, [[House of Pignatelli|Pignatelli]] and [[Colonna family|Colonna]] among others. After the formation of the [[Neapolitan Republic (1647)]], Basilicata also rebelled, but the revolt was suppressed. In 1663 a new province was created in Basilicata with its capital in [[Matera]].

The region came under the dominion of the [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|House of Bourbon]] in 1735. Basilicata autonomously declared its annexation to the [[Kingdom of Italy]] on August 18, 1860, with the Potenza insurrection. It was during this period that the state confiscated and sold off vast tracts of Basilicata's territory formerly owned by the [[Catholic Church]]. As the new owners were a handful of wealthy aristocratic families, the average citizen did not see any immediate economic and social improvements after unification, and poverty continued unabated.

This gave rise to the phenomenon of [[Brigandage in Southern Italy after 1861|brigandage]], which actually turned into a civil war in the form of a guerrilla fighting, whereby the Bourbon in exile and the Church encouraged the peasants to rise up against the [[Kingdom of Italy]]. This strong opposition movement continued for many years. The revolt in Basilicata was led by [[Carmine Crocco]], who was the most important chief in the region and the most impressive band leader in southern Italy.<ref>Eric Hobsbawm, ''Bandits'', Penguin, 1985, p. 25.</ref>

It was only really after [[World War II]] that things slowly began to improve thanks to land reform. In 1952, the inhabitants of the [[Sassi di Matera]] were rehoused by the state, but many of Basilicata's population had emigrated or were in the process of emigrating, which led to a demographic crisis from which it is still recovering.