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Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''
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 ...
'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the
Vulture area The Vulture ( it, Il Vulture, italic=no, ), also known as the Vulture-Melfese or Vulture-Alto Bradano is a geographical and historical region in the northern part of the province of Potenza, in the Basilicata region of Italy. Geography The are ...
. It is bounded by the comuni of
Barile Barile ( aae, Barilli; Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the ''comuni'' (municipalities), of Ginestra, Rapolla, Rionero in Vulture, Ripacandida, and ...
,
Ginestra Ginestra ( aae, Zhura) is an Arbëreshë town and ''comune'' in the Province of Potenza, Basilicata, Italy. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Forenza, Maschito, Ripacandida, Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the p ...
,
Lavello Lavello ( Potentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata of southern Italy; it is located in the middle Ofanto valley. History The area of Lavello was settled in prehistoric times, as attested by ...
,
Maschito Maschito ( aae, Mashqiti; Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Potenza, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Like other towns in the Vulture area, Maschito was repopulated by Albanian refugees after the occupation of Alb ...
,
Montemilone Montemilone ( it, ˈmonteˈmilone; Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, Basilicata, southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern ...
,
Palazzo San Gervasio Palazzo San Gervasio ( Lucano: ) is a small agricultural town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni (Municipalities) of Acerenza, Banzi, Forenza, Genzano di Lucan ...
,
Rapolla Rapolla is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Lavello, Melfi, Rionero in Vulture, Venosa. The ancient sarcophagus of Rapolla takes its name from ...
and
Spinazzola Spinazzola is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. People *Pope Innocent XII was born here in the castle of the Pignatelli family, now destroyed. * Michele Ruggieri (1543–1607), Jesuit mis ...
.


History


Ancient

The city was known as Venusia ("City of
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
") to the Romans, who credited its establishment—as Aphrodisia ("City of
Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...
")—to the
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
ic hero Diomedes. He was said to have moved to Magna Graecia in 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 middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
following the
Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
, seeking a life of peace and building the town and its temples to appease the anger of Aphrodite for the destruction of her beloved
Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
. The town was taken by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
after the
Third Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...
in 291 BC and became a
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
for its strategical position between
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
and
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 Bruttiu ...
. No fewer than 20,000 men were sent there, owing to its military importance. Throughout the Hannibalic wars, it remained faithful to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, and had a further contingent of colonists sent in 200 BC to replace its losses in the war. In 190 BC the
Appian way The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
was extended to the town. Some coins of Venusia of this period exist. It took part in the Social War, and was recaptured by Quintus Metellus Pius; it then became a ''
municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...
'', but in 43 BC its territory was assigned to the veterans of the
triumvir A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
s, and it became a colony once more.
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
was born here in 65 BC. His father's estate in Venusia was confiscated by Augustus after his victory in the
civil wars A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
for the settlement of veterans, like many others throughout Italy. It remained an important place under the Empire as a station on the
Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
, though
Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...
's description of it as having branch roads to
Aequum Tuticum Aequum Tuticum was a Roman vicus in southern Italy, about 35 km east-northeast of Beneventum. The site lies beside Saint Eleuterio hamlet, overlooking at an elevation of 575 m, about 15 km north of the modern Ariano Irpino, within Irp ...
and
Potentia Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italy, Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital an ...
, and Kiepert's maps annexed to the volume, do not agree with one another.


Middle Ages

After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...
, Venusia was sacked by the
Heruls The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Ancient Rome, Roman authors as one of several "Scythians, Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in t ...
, and in 493 AD it was turned into the administrative centre of the area in the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy, although later this role was moved to
Acerenza Acerenza ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. History With its strategic position above sea-level, Acerenza has been sacked by a series of invaders. The town, then kno ...
. The
Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
made it a
gastald A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers. ...
ate in 570/590. In 842 Venosa was sacked by the Saracens, who were later ousted by Emperor Louis II. Next rulers in the 9th century were the Byzantines, who lost control of it after their defeat in 1041 by the
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
. Under the latter, Venosa was assigned to
Drogo of Hauteville Drogo of Hauteville (''c''. 1010 – 10 August 1051) was the second Count of Apulia and Calabria (1046–51) in southern Italy. Initially he was only the leader of those Normans in the service of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno, but after 1047 he was ...
. In 1133 the town was sacked and set on fire by Roger II of Sicily. His later successor Frederick II had a castle built here where a Lombard outpost existed before, which was to house the Treasury (Ministry of Finances) of the
Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
. Frederick's son,
Manfred of Sicily Manfred ( scn, Manfredi di Sicilia; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the ...
, was perhaps born here in 1232. After the latter's fall, the
Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
s were replaced by the Angevines; King
Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...
assigned Venosa as a county to his son Robert.


Modern era

After a series of different feudal lords, Venosa became a possession of the
Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: *Angel ...
in 1453. Count Pirro Del Balzo, who had married Donata Orsini, built a new castle (1460–1470) and a cathedral. Then, under the Aragonese domination, followed the Gesualdo family (1561); amongst their number was the famous prince, musician and murderer Carlo Gesualdo. Despite the plague that had reduced its population from the 13,000 of 1503 to 6,000, Venosa had a flourishing cultural life under the Gesualdos: apart from the famous Carlo, other relevant figures of the period include the poet
Luigi Tansillo Luigi Tansillo (1510–1568) was an Italian poet of the Petrarchian school. Born in Venosa, he entered the service of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo in 1536 and in 1540 entered the Accademia degli Umidi, soon renamed Accademia Fiorentina. He was associ ...
(1510–1580) and the jurist Giovanni Battista De Luca (1614–1683). Venosa took part in the revolt of Masaniello in 1647. The Gesualdos were in turn followed by the Ludovisi and the
Caracciolo Caracciolo () is an Italian surname most associated with the noble House of Carácciolo from the Kingdom of Naples. Other people with the name include: * Alberto Caracciolo, Argentinian musician * Andrea Caracciolo, Italian footballer * Battiste ...
families. Home to a traditionally strong republican tradition, Venosa had a role in the peasant revolts and the
Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
movement of the early 19th century. A true civil war between baronial powers and supporters of the peasants' rights broke out in 1849, being harshly suppressed by the Neapolitan troops.(See
Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848 The Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848 ( scn, Rivuluzzioni nnipinnintista siciliana dû 1848) occurred in a year replete with revolutions and popular revolts. It commenced on 12 January 1848, and therefore was the first of the numerous ...
.) In 1861, after the fall of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
during the
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
, Venosa was occupied by some bands of brigands under the command of
Carmine Crocco Carmine Crocco, known as Donatello or sometimes Donatelli (Rionero in Vulture, 5 June 1830 – Portoferraio, 18 June 1905), was an Italian brigand. Initially a soldier for the Bourbons, he later fought in the service of Giuseppe Garibaldi. ...
in order to restore the Bourbon power in Basilicata.


Main sights

*The Aragonese castle, built in 1470 by Pirro del Balzo Orsini. It has a square plan with four cylindrical towers. The shining sun, the del Balzo coat of arms, is visible on the western towers. It was turned into a residence by Carlo and Emanuele Gesualdo, who added also an internal
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
, the north-western wing and bastions used as prisons. From 1612 it was the seat of the
Accademia dei Rinascenti Accademia (Italian for "academy") often refers to: * The Galleria dell'Accademia, an art museum in Florence * The Gallerie dell'Accademia, an art museum in Venice Accademia may also refer to: Academies of art * The Accademia Carrara di Belle ...
. It is now home to the National Museum of Venosa, inaugurated in 1991, with ancient Roman and other findings up to the 9th century. The entrance is preceded by a fountain conceded by King Charles I of Anjou. *Many fragments of Roman workmanship are built into the walls of the cathedral, which is due to Pirro del Balzo also (c. 1470). *The abbey church of ''SS. Trinità'' is historically interesting; it was consecrated in 1059 by Pope Nicholas II and passed into the hands of the Knights of Saint John in the time of
Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...
(1295–1303). In the central aisle is the tomb of Alberada, the first wife of Robert Guiscard and mother of Bohemund. An inscription on the wall commemorates the great Norman brothers William Iron Arm, Drogo, Humfrey and Robert Guiscard. The bones of these brothers rest together in a simple stone sarcophagus opposite the tomb of Alberada. The church also contains some 14th-century frescoes. Behind it is a larger church, which was begun for the Benedictines about 1150, from the designs of a French architect, in imitation of the Cluniac church at
Paray-le-Monial Paray-le-Monial is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Paray-le-Monial part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. It is nicknamed the "city of the Sacred Heart ...
, but never carried beyond the spring of the vaulting. The ancient amphitheatre adjacent furnished the materials for its walls. *Baroque Church of the Purgatory (or ''San Filippo Neri'') *The Archaeological Area of Notarchirico, in the communal territory. It covers the
Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...
period with eleven layers dating from 600,000 to 300,000 years ago. Remains of ancient wildlife, including extinct species of
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s, bisons and
rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...
es, have been found, as well as a fragment of a femur of ''
Homo erectus ''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor' ...
''. * Jewish catacombs with inscriptions in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
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 ...
and
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
show the importance of the Jewish population here in the 4th and 5th centuries. *Remains of the ancient city walls and of an amphitheatre still exist, and a number of inscriptions have been found there.


People

*
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
(65 BC8 BC): Roman poet *
Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...
(1232–1266): king of
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
*
Bartolomeo Maranta Bartolomeo Maranta, also Bartholomaeus Marantha (1500 – 24 March 1571) was an Italian physician, botanist, and literary theorist. The Marantaceae, a family of herbaceous perennials related to the gingers, are named after him. His name was also ...
(1500–1571): physician, botanist, and literary theorist *
Luigi Tansillo Luigi Tansillo (1510–1568) was an Italian poet of the Petrarchian school. Born in Venosa, he entered the service of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo in 1536 and in 1540 entered the Accademia degli Umidi, soon renamed Accademia Fiorentina. He was associ ...
(1510–1568): poet * Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613): music composer, lutenist and nobleman * Giovanni Battista de Luca (1614–1683): jurist and cardinal *
Giacomo Di Chirico Giacomo Ernesto Eduardo Di Chirico (27 January 1844 – 26 December 1883) was an Italian painter. Together with Domenico Morelli and Filippo Palizzi, he was one of the most elite Neapolitan artists of the 19th century. Biography Giacomo D ...
(1844–1883): painter *
Mario de Bernardi Mario de Bernardi (1893–1959) was an Italian World War I fighter pilot, seaplane air racer of the 1920s, and test pilot of early Italian experimental jets. Early life De Bernardi was born on 1 July 1893 in Venosa, Italy. In 1911, at the age ...
(1893–1959): colonel and aviator *
Cinzia Giorgio Cinzia Giorgio (born April 1, 1975, in Venosa, Province of Potenza) is an Italian writer. Biography Cinzia Giorgio was born in Venosa, Italy, in April 1975. She has a degree in modern literature at University of Naples Federico II, her thes ...
(b. 1975): writer


Twin towns

*
Tortolì Tortolì (; sc, Tortolì or ; la, Portus Ilii) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, in the Province of Nuoro. Geography Tortolì is situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia. Its port and greatest hamlet is Arbatax, which has also an airport th ...
, Italy *
Bernalda Bernalda ( Metapontino: or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The frazione of Metaponto is the site of the ancient city of Metapontum. Until the 15th century, it was called Cam ...
, Italy


References


External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in Basilicata Roman sites of Basilicata Coloniae (Roman) Archaeological sites in Italy