Grottole

Grottole is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the region of Basilicata in southern Italy.

Geography

Grottole is located in the Province of Matera, in the Region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. The village of Grottole extends along a crest in a territory rich in waters: the Basento and Bradano rivers, the Basentello and Bilioso torrents and the smaller streams Cupolo, Rovivo and Acquaviva.

As with most old towns, Grottole was strategically built on a mountain, standing 481 meters above sea level. At this altitude, the town was less susceptible to attack and also insects.

History

Human presence dates back to very ancient times, as testified by the many prehistoric caves below the present town, and its Latin name was Cryptulae, which means small grottos in Latin. Its reputation is based on its artistic tradition of rustic pottery (plates, flasks, oil and cereal containers called orci) for everyday use, baked in antiquity in ovens excavated in the rocks.

The territory was inhabited in prehistory and in historical times by the Greeks between the 13th and 12th century BC, when it was part of the Metaponto colony, the most important of the 8 regions of Magna Grecia. In Roman times Grottole was a Municipium. After the fall of the Roman Empire in 851 the Lombards included the Grottole fiefdom in Salerno dukedom, and at that time a castle was built. It was ruled by many feudal families, among them the Orsini-Del Balzo and Zurlo-Pisciscelli, then from 1547 to 1639 it was under the Sancez De Luna d'Aragona, to pass to the Caracciolo of Melissano, Spinelli of San Giorgio and finally from 1738 to the Sanseverino from Bisignano. The castle (Castle Feudale) still stands today.