Tricarico

Infobox CityIT
official_name = Comune di Tricarico
img_coa = Tricarico-Stemma.png img_coa_small =


image_caption =
region = RegioneIT|sigla=BAS
province = ProvinciaIT (short form)|sigla=MT (MT)
mayor =
mayor_party =
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 698
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 176.91
population_footnotes =
population_as_of = 31-12-2004
population_total = 6115
pop_density_footnotes =
population_density_km2 = 35
coordinates = coord|40|37|0|N|16|9|0|E|region:IT_type:city(6115)
gentilic = Tricaricési
telephone = 0835
postalcode = 75019
frazioni = Calle
saint = San Potito martire
day = 14 January
mapx = #expr:40 + 37 / 60.0
mapy = #expr:16 + 9 / 60.0
locator_position =
native_name = Tricarico
name = Tricarico
website =

Tricarico (Greek: Triakron) is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Lucania (or Basilicata). It has a population of 6,080 people. It still has amongst the best preserved medieval town centres in Lucania.

Origins

The origin of its name is, up to now, unknown but some believe the name derives from Greek word treis = three and akros, akris = summit, mount, apex, that is "cities of the three mounts".

History

Although of ancient origin, the first news documented about the town was in the 849, when the commune was a "longobarda" county included in the "gastaldato" of Salerno.

After this period was an Arabic town until the second half of the Tenth Century. In 968 it came under the Byzantine Empire and then, in 1048, became a Norman fortified town.

In the fiftheenth century there was a Jewish community.

Distant cultures, also from a religious point of view have found a favorable point of encounter and development, testified not only through the art and the architecture here but also through the way the territory is used in the respect to nature.

An example of extraordinary historical importance, is the terrace gardens, of Arabic origin, that are still in use today. The favorable historical and cultural contours that have characterized it, made Tricarico a center of primary importance in southern Italy.The roads and alleys of the historical center reflect themselves the Arabic quarters of the Ràbata and the Saracena.The recent history of Tricarico is tied to the figure of the poet Rocco Scotellaro (1923-1953), who left a number of soulful literary works and poetry about the town.

Archaeological sites

The archaeological area of Civita is situated in close locality. It comprises a Ancient RomeRomanfortified center that extends for approximately 50 hectares and consists of stone buildings with squared blocks, fortified with monumental doors. On the inside, some rooms introduce mosaic pavements over 2500 years old.