Editing Basilicata (section)

===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.