Metaponto is a small town of about 1,000 people in the province of Matera, Basilicata,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Administratively it is a

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

Bernalda Bernalda (Neapolitan language, Metapontino: or ) is a town and municipality () in the province of Matera, in the southern Italy, Italian region of Basilicata. The nearby village of Metaponto is the site of the ancient city of Metapontum. Until ...

History

The town was built by the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

to defend Sybaris from the growth of

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

. A 1 km stretch of beach with white powdery sand is a further tourist attraction. The city of Metaponto was built by Greek settlers of Achaia in the second half of the 7th century to defend themselves from the continuous expansion of Taranto. One of its strengths was the fertility of its territory, witnessed by the barley ear depicted in the coins and, therefore, also a symbol of the city. Metapontus allied himself with Sibari and Crotone, participated in the destruction of Siris, and aided Athens in the expedition to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. In 280 BC, during the Battle of Heraclea, he allied with Pyrrhus and Tarantus against Rome. The war was won by Rome and, therefore, Metapontus was punished. Pisticci helped many people by giving them refuge, remaining, during the battle, the only city loyal to Metaponto. In 207 BC Metapontus offered hospitality to Hannibal, but the Romans punished her by destroying her, but in the first century before Christ returned to its maximum splendor, continuing its expansion until the Roman age. Today, in Metaponto you can visit the Palatine Tables and the National Archaeological Museum.

Geography

Metaponto is located by the Ionian Coast on the road linking Potenza and

Matera Matera (, ; Neapolitan language, Materano: ) is a city and the capital of the Province of Matera in the regions of Italy, region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic (10th mi ...

with

. It is composed by the main village and Metaponto Lido, the beach area. Between them there are located the ruins of Metapontum and the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Gallery

File:Positioncitybernalda.png, Location Map File:Metaponto Lido.jpg, The beach File:Metapontum 2013.JPG, Temple of Hera File:Archaeological museum of Metaponto 01.jpg, Archaeological museum of Metaponto

External links

Frazioni of the Province of Matera Beaches of Basilicata Seaside resorts in Italy Railway towns in Italy {{Basilicata-geo-stub