Basilicata

Basilicata, formerly Lucania, region, southern Italy, adjoining the Gulf of Taranto and the Tyrrhenian Sea. It includes Potenza and Matera provinces, named for their capital cities. The regional capital is Potenza. The mountainous western portion of Basilicata, with elevations of more than 1,800 m (more than 6,000 ft), is part of the Apennines. The hills slope southeast to a low coastal plain on the Gulf of Taranto. The economy has long been dependent on the cultivation of olives, oats, grapes and other fruits, and potatoes and the raising of some sheep and goats. Traditional industries included the manufacture of ornaments, clothing, and furniture. In the mid-20th century discovery of methane gas in the Basento Valley of Matera spurred the building of factories for heavier industry. The sparse population of Basilicata lives mainly in hilltop villages.

Basilicata was known as Lucania when it was under Roman rule in the 3rd century bc. It later fell prey to the invasions of the Lombards and Byzantines, and in the 11th century it became part of the Norman duchy of Apulia. It was included in the kingdom of Naples in the 13th century and became part of the kingdom of Italy in 1861. Area, 9,992 sq km (3,858 sq mi); population 591,338 (2007 estimate).