Castelmezzano ( Castelmezzano dialect: ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of Potenza The province of Potenza (; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There are 100 ''comuni'' (singular: ''com ...

, in the Southern Italian region of

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

. It is bounded by the comuni of Albano di Lucania, Anzi,

Laurenzana Laurenzana (Neapolitan language, Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata (southern Italy). It rises on a spur between the torre Camastro and the wood surrounding the Serrapotamo valley. History L ...

, Pietrapertosa,

Trivigno Trivigno is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is the birthplace of the silent film actor and director Robert G. Vignola. References

Cities and towns in Basilicata {{B ...

. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). In 2007 Castelmezzano was chosen by Arthur Frommer's ''Budget Travel'' magazine among "The best places you've never heard of". ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' included Castelmezzano among its "Italy's 19 most beautiful villages" list in 2017, defining it "one of southern Italy's most stunningly located villages".

History

The origins of Castelmezzano date to approximately between the 6th and 5th centuries BC, when

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

settlers got into the valley of Basento and founded in

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

a town called Maudoro, meaning roughly the world of gold. In the 10th century AD, the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

invasions forced the local population to find a new location. It is said that during the exodus, a shepherd called Paolino discovered a place to move to, formed by rocks from the steep peaks of which one could repel the invaders by means of rolling stone boulders on to them. After the occupation by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

settled there between the 11th and 13th century AD and built a castle (of which are still visible the remains of the walls and tier of rocks which allowed access to the higher lookout point). It was from the name of the castle (''Castrum Medianum'', roughly means Castle in the Middle) that the town derived its name, the castle so named because of its position between those of Pietrapertosa and Albano di Lucania. With the Normans, Castelmezzano experienced a period of peace and development, until under the Angevins it experienced a sharp decline. With the arrival of the Aragonese, between the 14th and 16th century, many landowners received Castelmezzano as

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

, although the economic and social conditions remained mostly unchanged. Only with the appointment of Baron Giovanni Antonio De Leonardis (whose family governed the town from 1580 to 1686), did development take place. Subsequently, it passed by marriage to the De Lerma, who held it until 1805, when feudalism was suppressed in southern Italy. In the 19th century, Castelmezzano was affected by

brigandage Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded ...

. Due to its location, rich in natural hiding places among the rocks and lush vegetation, it was an ideal refuge for many bandits. At the end of the century, the town suffered a major migratory exodus, which prompted many families to move overseas.

Main sights

*Mother church of Santa Maria dell'Olmo *Church of Santo Sepolcro *Chapel of Madonna dell’Annunziata

Events

The ''Volo dell'Angelo'' (Angel Flight) is a high-speed

zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide''Who Really Benefits from Tourism'', Publ. Equations, Karnataka, India, 2010. Working Papers Series. "Canopy Tourism"page 37/ref>Jacques Marais, Lisa De Speville, ''Adventure Racing'', ...

crossing the valley between Castelmezzano and neighbouring Pietrapertosa, offering a panoramic view at over 400 metres (1,300 feet) from the ground at speeds of 120 km/h (70 mph). Inaugurated in 2007, the event is held annually between May and November. The ''Percorso delle Sette Pietre'' (Seven Stones Path) is a literary walk inspired by Mimmo Sammartino’s book ''Vito ballava con le streghe'' (Vito danced with the witches), based on ancient stories handed down orally. Each path includes a space that evokes a sequence of the story, with a sound environment that offers additional suggestions to the magic of nature revealed.

People

* Anthony Campagna, Count of Castelmezzano (1884–1969), Italian American real estate developer * Charles V. Paterno (1876–1946), Italian American real estate developer * Eugenio Santoro (1920–2006), Italian Swiss sculptor and painter * Bob Yosco (1874–1942), Italian American musician and

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer

Gallery

File:Notturna di Castelmezzano innevata.jpg, Night view of Castelmezzano after a snowfall File:Castelmezzano-chiesa-madre.jpg, Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria dell'Olmo

References

External links

Selected Transcribed vital records for CastelmezzanoArchived
{{authority control Cities and towns in Basilicata Colonies of Magna Graecia Borghi più belli d'Italia