SHARRYLAND
Pisticci
Stories of resilience and courage suspended between the land and sky of Lucania
Where is
What it is and where it is
It is called "the balcony on the Ionian Sea" or "the amphitheater on the Ionian Sea." Two very poetic definitions for a village not far from Matera that lies between the heights and the sea. With its many hamlets it offers bewitching views, so much so that when you look at the horizon from the village, the sky seems to dance with the surrounding mountains and then dive into the sea. Pure poetry. But don't leave the adventure lover: Pisticci hides a proud and tenacious character, seasoned with many anecdotes that its streets can tell.
Why it is special
This village lives poised between harmony and chaos. The little white houses, surprisingly neat for being part of an ancient village, look like small flowers skillfully placed by an expert hand to form a wreath on top of the three mountains on which the historic center stands. If you widen your gaze, however, you see cuts in the rock and strange curved formations, almost like the clouds drawn by children: these are the gullies and mamelon formations, evidence of the fragility of a clay soil traversed by rivers and streams.
Don't miss
Be sure to visit the entire village. It is important because Pisticci is made up of numerous districts and hamlets that reveal different souls and tell different but interconnected stories, to the point that it would really be a pity to miss part of it. A few examples? The Dirupo district, with its little houses all the same stubbornly clinging to the top of the gullies, which was born in protest against a profiteering count, or the Marconia hamlet, named after Guglielmo Marconi and founded as a labor camp for anti-fascists. Admit it: you would not have expected this!
A bit of history
It is a long, articulated history marked by continuous landslides and reconstruction. A landslide itself had destroyed the town in 1688, and Count De Cardenas proposed to move the settlement to other lands belonging to him. Too bad, however, that the population would have to pay more taxes. So, proud and tenacious, the Pisticcesi built 200 small houses on the very land of the landslide, giving birth to the Dirupo district. This land was also an area of malarial swamps, which were reclaimed by anti-fascist prisoners held in the labor camp that later became Marconia, a thriving hamlet in the municipality of Pisticci.
Curiosities
Outside the historical center proper, one can have other adventures. For example, one can discover an archaeological area that takes us back to the time of the Oenotrians and ancient Greeks.
Like a white crown atop the gullies - Ph: Presidioturistico Pisticci (CC BY-SA 4.0)Enter the Map of Italy's Undiscovered Wonders and find treasures where you least expect it... Inspire, Recommend, Share...
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