Garaguso 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 Matera The province of Matera (; Materano: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera. It has an area of and a total population of 201,133; the city of Matera has a population of 61,204. The province contains ...

, 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 ...

Geography

Garaguso is an agricultural center in the upper valley of the Cavone River. The town is situated on a hill and is bordered to the north by the town of Grassano, to the east by Salandra, to the south by

San Mauro Forte San Mauro Forte is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. History The area was established in the sixth century. It was probably part of Magna Graecia. Geography The town is on a hill, abo ...

, and west with

Oliveto Lucano Oliveto Lucano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on ...

and

Calciano Calciano () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Camp ...

History

The results of archaeological investigations indicate that the area was inhabited since prehistoric times. The temple of Garaguso, Heroon is of note, revealing a strong Greek presence in the area. In 1060, Garaguso was included in the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Tricarico. Important findings come from the territory are kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Basilicata, documenting an indigenous culture from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

to the fifth century BC. The museum contains marble dating from the first half of the fifth century BC: a model of the Heroon temple and a statue of a goddess sitting. In the

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

period, Garaguso belonged to the Sanseverinos and in turn the Salandra family until 1813. The 1694 earthquake destroyed the original settlement further down the hill and was rebuilt by the Revettera di Salandra family in the XVIII century. A hunting lodge was built and is now called the Palace. The building is accessed by a path carved into the rock It has a central courtyard where there was also the family chapel that later enlarged to become the main church, dedicated to Saint

Nicholas of Myra Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya Province, Turkey) dur ...

. This parish church of Garguso dates to the eighteenth-century and has a clay sculpture of the fifteenth century depicting the Madonna della Puglia and a canvas painted in 1761 by Deodato da Tolve. In 1702, Cardinal

Gaspare Carpegna Gaspare Carpegna (8 April 1625 – 6 May 1714) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. Early life Gaspare was born in 1625 in Rome. His mother was from the Spada family. He was a relative of the Cardinal Ulderico Carpegna of the Holy Roman Catho ...

donated a leg bone of

Gaudentius of Rimini Gaudentius of Rimini (, sometimes spelled ) ( – 14 October 360) was a Roman Catholic Diocese of Rimini, bishop of Rimini, who is venerated as a Martyr, martyred saint in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. The accounts of Gaudent ...

from Ostra to the parish priest, and in 1794, , the bishop of Tricarico, donated an arm bone to the same parish. Gaudentius remains Garaguso's patron saint, though he is unusually celebrated on 14 August, rather than his death date on 14 October, so as not to interrupt the mid-October sowing season.

References

Cities and towns in Basilicata {{Basilicata-geo-stub