Lagaria (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ), was an ancient town of

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Brutti ...

, situated between

Thurii Thurii (; grc-gre, Θούριοι, Thoúrioi), called also by some Latin writers Thurium (compare grc-gre, Θούριον in Ptolemy), for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Gulf of Taranto, Tarentine gul ...

and the river

Siris Siris may refer to: Geography *Siris (Magna Graecia), an ancient city in southern Italy *Serres, a city in Macedonia called Siris by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus * Siris, Sardinia, an Italian commune *Sinni (river) (Siris in Latin), Italy ...

(modern Sinni). According to legend, it was founded by a colony of Phocians under the command of

Epeius There were two characters named Epeius (; Ancient Greek: Ἐπειός ''Epeiós'') or Epeus in Greek mythology. * Epeius, an Elean prince as son of King Endymion. He ran a race at Olympia, against his brothers Aetolus and Paeon, winning his fath ...

, the architect of the

Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

calls it only a fortress (), and it was probably never a place of any importance; though deriving some celebrity in later times from the excellence of its wine, which was esteemed one of the best in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The statement of Strabo, above quoted, is the only clue to its position, which cannot therefore be determined with any certainty. Cluverius placed it at

Nocara Nocara is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza, in the Calabria region of southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the m ...

, about 16 km from the sea, and this conjecture (for it is nothing more) has been adopted by

Romanelli Romanelli is a family name of Italian origin. The 1990 Census found that Romanelli was the 21,280th most common surname in the United States Some people named Romanelli include: * Carl Romanelli (politician), a Green Party activist in Pennsylvania ...

. The editors of the ''

Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World The ''Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' is a large-format English language atlas of ancient Europe, Asia, and North Africa, edited by Richard Talbert, Richard J. A. Talbert. The time period depicted is roughly from Archaic Greece, ...

'', along with most modern scholars, place the ruins of Lagaria at Monte Coppolo, in the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Valsinni Valsinni is a village and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. The village is bordered by Colobraro, Nocara, Noepoli, Nova Siri, Rotondella and San Giorgio Lucano. History The territory of the "comun ...

Matera Province The province of Matera ( it, Provincia di 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 Matera has a population of 61,204. ...

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. The wines of this neighborhood are said still to preserve their ancient reputation.Cluverius ''Ital.'' p. 1272; Romanelli, vol. i. p. 248.

References

* {{coord missing, Italy Pre-Roman cities in Italy Lucania Ruins in Italy Wine regions of Italy Former populated places in Italy Colonies of Magna Graecia