San Mauro Forte 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 ...
.
History
The area was established in the sixth century.
It was probably part of
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 ...
.
Geography
The town is on a hill, above sea level, in the west central part of the province. To the north are the communes of
Salandra (14 km/9 miles), Oliveto Lucano (15 km/9 miles) and Garaguso (17 km/11 miles). To the east is
Ferrandina (31 km/20 miles) with
Craco (25 km/15 miles) and
Stigliano (31 km/20 miles) to the south.
Accettura is (14 km/9 miles) to the south. The provincial capital,
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 ...
, is 70 km/44 miles away, while the administrative capital of the adjacent province,
Potenza
Potenza (, ; ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania).
Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one of ...
, is 66 km/41 miles away.
San Mauro Forte is included in the administrative grouping of
Upland Communes of the Matera Hills.
Main sights
* Torre Normanna, "Norman Tower"
* The sixteenth-century Church of Santa Maria Assunta, in which are preserved valuable paintings from the eighteenth century;
* The Church of the Annunciation, built in the sixteenth century by Franciscan monks, with an adjoining convent;
* The Church of St. Mary of the Angels (also known as Chapel of the Rosary or Saint Lucia), of ancient origins;
* The eighteenth-century Church of St. Vincent, with a
majolica
In different periods of time and in different countries, the term ''majolica'' has been used for two distinct types of pottery.
Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, ''maiolica'' was a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca a ...
tiled floor and an eighteenth-century organ;
* The noble palaces, such as Palazzo Arciaerie (today seat of the Town Hall) and Palazzo Lauria, famous for its Baroque-style portal.
Religious festivals
* The Feast of
Saint Maurus
Maurus, OSB (; ) (512–584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic monk best known as the first disciple of Benedict of Nursia. He is mentioned in Gregory the Great's biography of the latter as the first oblate (religion), oblate ...
, 15 January
* Campanacci, the "Festival of the Cowbell", 16 January
Soundmasks in resounding places - Listening to the Campanaccio of San Mauro Forte
Nicola Scaldaferri, Sonic ethnography, Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526151988.00009 , Online Publication Date: 15 Dec 2020
* St Anthony the Abbot, 17 January
* The Feast of Saint Roch, 3 September
Gallery
File:San Mauro Forte. La torre.jpg, Torre Normanna "Norman Tower"
File:San Mauro Forte, veduta.jpg, View of the village
File:San Mauro Forte, La Chiesa madre.jpg, La Chiesa madre (Main church)
Demographic
''Population census''
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See also
* Carnival of Satriano di Lucania
References
Cities and towns in Basilicata
{{Basilicata-geo-stub