Tursi ( Tursitano: ; grc, Θυρσοί, translit=Thursoí; la, Tursium) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

History

In the 9th century it was a stronghold of the Saracens in southern Italy. In 968, Tursi became the capital of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

theme of

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...

and the seat of the bishop was transferred there from Anglona.

Anglona

Within the present

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of Tursi there was a Greek colony called Pandosia, inland from the younger and more powerful Greek colony of Heraclea, so that it was in vicinity of Pandosia that what is known as the

Battle of Heraclea The Battle of Heraclea took place in 280 BC between the Romans under the command of consul Publius Valerius Laevinus, and the combined forces of Greeks from Epirus, Tarentum, Thurii, Metapontum, and Heraclea under the command of Pyrrhus, kin ...

was fought in 280 BC. It was destroyed in the

Social War (90–88 BC) Social War may refer to: * Social War (357–355 BC), or the War of the Allies, fought between the Second Athenian Empire and the allies of Chios, Rhodes, and Cos as well as Byzantium * Social War (220–217 BC), fought among the southern Greek sta ...

.Rocco Bruno, ''Tursi, immagini di un secolo'', Matera, graficom, 2005, p. 14 The town of Anglona later arose on its ruins, the first documentary evidence of the name being of the year 747: ''locus qui dicitur Anglonum''. In 410 it was destroyed by the troops of

Alaric I Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades ...

, and in the 9th century a Saracen raid led to its temporary abandonment. The

reconquest under Emperor

Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...

of what became the ( theme of

in about 968, made Tursi the capital of the theme. The seat of the bishopric was moved from Anglona to the new capital. At the end of the 11th century, the bishop's seat was again moved to Anglona, which held a better strategic position. It was at this time that the prestigious sanctuary church of Saint Mary of Anglona was built on the site of an earlier church. However, in the following centuries Anglona declined and Tursi became again more important. After some leading figures in Tursi actually destroyed the town of Anglona, the seat of the bishop was transferred again to Tursi by decrees of 1545 and 1546, which however required that Anglona was to have first place in the denomination of was then called the Diocese of Anglona and Tursi. A restructuring of the dioceses of Basilicata on 8 September 1976 included a change of the name to Diocese of Tursi-Lagonegro, making Anglona a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. The is a national monument. It is on a hill at above sea level and was built from the 11th-12th centuries by enlarging a pre-existing small church (7th-8th centuries). It is a

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

and

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...

construction, particularly notable for the external decoration of the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

, with numerous small arches, sculpted panels and a large central window flanked by small columns. The

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narth ...

of the entrance has a portal with reliefs with the lamb, symbols of the four Evangelists and other symbolic figures. The bell tower is in Romanesque style The church is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles separated by five arcades in different styles. Traces of the 14th-century frescoes with ''Scenes of the Old and Testament'' have been recently restored.

Other sights

In the ancient semi-fortified village of Rabatana are the remains of a castle built around a 5th century tower erected by

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...

. There is also the church of Santa Maria Maggiore (10th-11th centuries: largely rebuilt in the Baroque style, it has maintained its 15th-century façade. The interior has a nave and two aisles, and is home to a priceless 14th century triptych portraying the ''Virgin Enthroned with Child'' and ''Scenes of the Life of Jesus'', attributed to the school of

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. G ...

. The cathedral of Tursi dates from the 15th-16th centuries.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Basilicata Castles in Italy