Grassano is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Matera

Province of Matera

The Province of Matera is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera.It has an area of 3,447 km², and a total population of 203,837 . There are 31 comunes in the province . The main comunes by population are:- External links :* **...

, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata

Basilicata

Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...

. It is located between the Bradano

Bradano

The Bradano is an Italian river that flows southeast through Basilicata before emptying into the Gulf of Taranto. Its source is Lake Pesole in the province of Potenza. After crossing into the province of Matera, it is joined by a tributary. The Basentello and then the Bilioso join the Bradano...

 and Basento

Basento

The Basento is a river in southern Italy. It rises in the southern Apennine Mountains, west of Potenza. It flows into the Gulf of Taranto, which is part of the Ionian Sea, in Metaponto. The main city on the Basento is Potenza, the capital of Basilicata....

 rivers, at an altitude variable from c. 150 to 576 meters above the sea level. The town proper is at 43&nbps;km from Matera and 59 km from the regional capital, Potenza

Potenza

-Transportation:Potenza is a rail junction on the main line from Salerno to Taranto, managed by FS Trenitalia; it has also a connection to Altamura, served by the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane regional company...

.

History

Grassano was founded around 1000 AD, the first official document including the town's name is dated 1123 and was known as "castellum quod vocatur Crassanum".
In the 15th century, Grassano was officially a rural seat of the Tricarico

Tricarico

Tricarico is a town and comune in the province of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy.It is home to one of the best preserved medieval historical centres in Lucania.-Origins:The origin of Tricarico is presently unknown...

's Diocese.
Grassano's people later asked King Ladislaus of Naples for an independence act, and Grassano has remained an independent village since January 19, 1414.

Carlo Levi

Carlo Levi

Dr. Carlo Levi was an Italian-Jewish painter, writer, activist, anti-fascist, and doctor.He is best known for his book Cristo si è fermato a Eboli , published in 1945, a memoir of his time spent in exile in Lucania, Italy, after being arrested in connection with his political activism...

 was arrested and exiled to Grassano because of his anti-fascist activities. In Grassano, Levi painted about 70 pictures and started discovering Southern Italy's problems. After the war, he wrote his most famous book, Christ Stopped at Eboli.

Since 2002, Grassano, with Aliano (the second place where Levi was exiled) is an active Literary Park.