The Busento ( la, Bucentius
) is a left tributary of the
Crati
The Crati is a river in Calabria, southern Italy. It is the largest river of Calabria and the third largest river of southern Italy after the Volturno and the Sele. In classical antiquity it was known as the Crathis or Crater ( Greek: ).
Ge ...
river, which flows about in
Calabria
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,
southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...
, from the
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
to the
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...
. The Busento joins the Crati in the center of
Cosenza
Cosenza (; :it:Dialetto cosentino, local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosen ...
.
The legend of
Alaric and his burial in Busento inspired the poem by
August von Platen-Hallermünde
Karl August Georg Maximilian Graf von Platen-Hallermünde (24 October 17965 December 1835) was a German poet and dramatist. In German he mostly is called '' Graf'' (Count) Platen.
Biography
August von Platen was born on 24 October 1796 at Ans ...
''Das Grab im Busento'' with a romantic representation of the King's death and burial.
Legend
The river's fame is due to a historic event in 410, when
Alaric, first king of the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...
, died during a siege of the town. According to the legend, his body was buried under the river bed, the stream being temporarily diverted from its course by complex hydraulic engineering while the grave was dug and restored again to its original bed after the funeral. The work was performed by Roman slaves who were killed after the work by Alaric's soldiers so that the exact location of the burial site would remain secret forever. The king's grave and its fabulous treasure have never been found.
The German poet
August von Platen-Hallermünde
Karl August Georg Maximilian Graf von Platen-Hallermünde (24 October 17965 December 1835) was a German poet and dramatist. In German he mostly is called '' Graf'' (Count) Platen.
Biography
August von Platen was born on 24 October 1796 at Ans ...
celebrated this event with his poem ''Das Grab im Busento'' (1820).
See also
*
Sack of Rome (410)
The Sack of Rome on 24 August 410 AD was undertaken by the Visigoths led by their king, Alaric. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in that position first by Mediolanum (now Milan) in ...
References
External links
*
Rivers of the Province of Cosenza
Rivers of Italy
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