The Lucanian Magna Graecia: Hellenic civilisation in Basilicata

Around 7 km from the modern town of Metaponto, two rows of imposing Doric columns rise against a bright blue sky: you have found yourself in the Urban Archaeological Park of Metaponto, the principal city of Lucanian Magna Graecia. The 15 columns you see, each with 20 flutes and Doric capitals, are known as the Tavole Palatine. They once supported the roof of a majestic temple dedicated to the goddess Hera, protector of lands and waters. Metapontum was also the place where the great philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras lived and died. As you wander among the ruins of the Temple of Hera, imagine him explaining his theories on numbers and the harmony of the universe.

The park also includes the Doric Temple of Apollo, the Ionic Temple of Artemis and a small shrine probably dedicated to Athena, all built between the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Also visible are the remains of the public square, the agora, the splendid Greek theatre and the north-south road axis upon which the entire urban complex was based. Important excavations carried out in 1926 brought to light numerous artefacts – including statuettes, ceramics and fragments of other columns – now housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Metaponto, currently closed for restoration works.

In the area where the modern town of Policoro stands, in the province of Matera, the ancient Greek colony of Siris existed in 660 BC. It prospered thanks to trade with inland populations but was in conflict with Metapontum, which, allied with Sybaris and Croton, destroyed it in the mid-6th century BC. In its place, between 434 and 433 BC, Greek colonists from Taranto founded a new colony: Herakleia. The Siris - Herakleia Archaeological Park preserves the remains of both cities, which overlapped. From the Siris period survive small sacred areas and a mudbrick fortification that once enclosed the upper settlement. Most remains, however, belong to Herakleia: houses with mosaic floors, production waste such as ceramics and moulds for votive figurines, indicating the presence of kilns and an artisan quarter.

Nearby stands the National Archaeological Museum of Siritide, which since 1969 has displayed a rich collection of artefacts from the Greek colonies of Siris and Herakleia, illustrating their trade, daily life and religious practices.

Before continuing your journey in search of Greek heritage in Basilicata, you may wish to enjoy nature along the golden beaches of Lido di Policoro and in the Regional Nature Reserve of Bosco Pantano di Policoro.

The next stop on this journey through Magna Graecia Lucana is in a city that no longer exists: Pandosia, an ancient Greek polis. It is believed to have been destroyed in 410 BC and later rebuilt under Frederick II as Anglona, before disappearing definitively in 1310. Today the Sanctuary of Santa Maria d'Anglona stands in its place – a masterpiece of medieval architecture built in tuff and travertine between the late 11th and 12th centuries. A Puglian-inspired porch precedes the church, with a double ring of tuff voussoirs supported by four columns. The portal is decorated with a sawtooth frieze, and the bas-reliefs above the arch depict the Lamb symbolising Christ and the Evangelists. Inside, you can admire frescoes by Byzantine artists associated with the Norman court of Sicily, particularly those along the walls of the central nave dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, illustrating scenes from the Old Testament. From the hill on which the sanctuary stands, you can enjoy a splendid view of the Lucanian calanchi and, in the distance, the sea.

Perched on a hill, the village of Montalbano Jonico overlooks the lower Agri valley, offering striking views of the Lucanian calanchi, a spectacular natural phenomenon created by the erosion of clay soils forming ridges, canyons and deep ravines, protected within the Regional Reserve of the Calanchi of Montalbano Jonico.
Archaeological finds suggest human presence here as early as the Iron Age, but the town's foundation dates to around 280 BC, when Pyrrhus arrived and defeated the Romans at Heracleia.
As you stroll through the historic centre, you will notice a layered urban fabric reflecting successive dominations: Normans, Swabians and Aragonese expanded the defensive system, adding towers, gates and walls. Visit the picturesque Terravecchia district, with its narrow lanes and Arab-Norman arches, the 12th-century Church of Santa Maria dell'Episcopio, and the numerous palaces built between the 16th and 19th centuries.

In the area where the evocative village of Tursi now stands, surrounded by clay calanchi, caves and deep ravines, archaeological finds attest to human settlements as early as the 9th–8th centuries BC.

Its striking historic centre is a maze of winding streets that, on 27 and 28 December, host a living Nativity scene with over 100 participants. Rabatana, the ancient quarter in the upper part of the town, founded by the Arabs in the 9th century and later abandoned, can be reached from the historic centre via a steep stairway overlooking a 200-metre drop. The district is an intricate tangle of small houses, tunnels, arches, steep alleyways and staircases leading to dramatic clay precipices. To the east, just outside the town, stands the Convent of Saint Francis of Assisi, begun in 1441 and completed in the 17th century, with its distinctive bell tower featuring arabesque forms.

To conclude this journey tracing the Greek legacy in Basilicata, visit Nova Siri. Built on the left bank of the River Sinni by Greek colonists between the 8th and 7th centuries BC (as confirmed by archaeological finds), the city was later destroyed by its rivals Metapontum, Sybaris and Croton, who allied against it, fearing its economic power. The survivors likely took refuge on the nearby hill of Pandosia – where the Sanctuary of Santa Maria d'Anglona now stands – and on the heights of present-day Montalbano Jonico and Tursi.

Today, the historic centre of Nova Siri features narrow lanes enclosed by lamie, arches interwoven with cross vaults, a heavily remodelled medieval castle and a 16th-century church. Head towards the coast to Marina di Nova Siri, where you can see the cylindrical 16th-century Torre Boleta (or Bollita), a coastal watchtower built against pirate raids. A Greek necropolis has been discovered nearby. All that's left to do is take a dip in the waters of the Ionian Sea.