Grottole
Encyclopedia
Grottole is a town and comune
in the province of Matera
, in the region of Basilicata
in southern Italy.
and Bradano
rivers, the Basentello
and Bilioso
torrents and the smaller streams Cupolo, Rovivo and Acquaviva.
As with most old towns, Grottole was strategically built on a mountain, standing 481 meters above sea level. At this altitude, the town was less susceptible to attack and also insects.
The territory was inhabited in prehistory and in historical times by the Greeks between the 13th and 12th century BC, when it was part of the Metaponto colony, the most important of the 8 regions of Magna Grecia. In Roman times Grottole was a Municipium. After the fall of the Roman Empire in 851 the Lombards included the Grottole fiefdom in Salerno dukedom, and at that time a castle was built. It was ruled by many feudal families, among them the Orsini-Del Balzo and Zurlo-Pisciscelli, then from 1547 to 1639 it was under the Sancez De Luna d'Aragona, to pass to the Caracciolo of Melissano, Spinelli of San Giorgio and finally from 1738 to the Sanseverino from Bisignano. The castle (Castle Feudale) still stands today.
Records of the year 1010 show Grottole as a populous town with 13,000 inhabitants, but plagues and wars reduced the number to a little over 4,000 in 1133 when the town was besieged and plundered by Ruggero.
Plagues and a disastrous landslide caused a further decline, and in a Numerazione dei Fuochi of 1493 Grottole was inhabited by about 1300 people, and in 1783 the inhabitants were 2010.
After the explosive demographic growth of the 19th century, there was another drop in the population because of emigration, so that now the inhabitants are about 2,600.
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 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...
in southern Italy.
Geography
Grottole is located in the Province of Matera, in the Region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. The village of Grottole extends along a crest in a territory rich in waters: the BasentoBasento
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....
and 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...
rivers, the Basentello
Basentello
The Basentello is an Italian river that flows into the Bradano. Its source is near Palazzo and the river forms part of the border between the province of Potenza and the province of Bari...
and Bilioso
Bilioso
The Bilioso is an Italian river that flows into the Bradano. Its source is near Tricarico. It flows southeast through the province of Matera before entering the Bradano near Lago di San Giuliano .-References:...
torrents and the smaller streams Cupolo, Rovivo and Acquaviva.
As with most old towns, Grottole was strategically built on a mountain, standing 481 meters above sea level. At this altitude, the town was less susceptible to attack and also insects.
History
Human presence dates back to very ancient times, as testified by the many prehistoric caves below the present town, and its Latin name was Cryptulae, which means small grottos in Latin. Its reputation is based on its artistic tradition of rustic pottery (plates, flasks, oil and cereal containers called orci) for everyday use, baked in antiquity in ovens excavated in the rocks.The territory was inhabited in prehistory and in historical times by the Greeks between the 13th and 12th century BC, when it was part of the Metaponto colony, the most important of the 8 regions of Magna Grecia. In Roman times Grottole was a Municipium. After the fall of the Roman Empire in 851 the Lombards included the Grottole fiefdom in Salerno dukedom, and at that time a castle was built. It was ruled by many feudal families, among them the Orsini-Del Balzo and Zurlo-Pisciscelli, then from 1547 to 1639 it was under the Sancez De Luna d'Aragona, to pass to the Caracciolo of Melissano, Spinelli of San Giorgio and finally from 1738 to the Sanseverino from Bisignano. The castle (Castle Feudale) still stands today.
Records of the year 1010 show Grottole as a populous town with 13,000 inhabitants, but plagues and wars reduced the number to a little over 4,000 in 1133 when the town was besieged and plundered by Ruggero.
Plagues and a disastrous landslide caused a further decline, and in a Numerazione dei Fuochi of 1493 Grottole was inhabited by about 1300 people, and in 1783 the inhabitants were 2010.
After the explosive demographic growth of the 19th century, there was another drop in the population because of emigration, so that now the inhabitants are about 2,600.