CHURCHES POMARICO

Pomarico (Greek: Pomerikon) is a small town of 4500 inhabitants in Southern Italy, in the region Basilicata. It is about 30 km far from Matera, the capital of the province to which Pomarico belongs. The town was founded about 850 AD by Greeks. An old castle was built but only few ruins of it remain.

The mother church, whose restoration ended in 1994, has a Baroque facade and contains within it paintings by Pietro Antonio Ferro and Andrea Vaccaro, a wooden statue of San Michele dating back to 1400 and a valuable antifonario the sixteenth century. The edge of town stretches for 500 hectares, the forest of "Manferrara".

The Marquess Palace, built in the 18th century, and still standing in the centre of the town.
The Main Church dedicated to St. Michael, also built in that period. It has a baroque façade and contains a beautiful wooden statue of St. Michael (1400), as well as paintings of Pietro Antonio Ferro and Andrea Vaccaro.
The church of St. Anthony of Padua (18th century). It lies by a former convent, that was transformed into the City Hall.

Location: 3 km. by the river Basento around the town of Pomarico (province of Matera) Major periods . 1) The human presence on the plateau of Pomarico Vecchio has testified during the sixth century. aC by furniture and artefacts from a necropolis located at the source S. Giacomo. Giacomo. 2) Starting from fourth century. aC stands on the same plateau inhabited a broad and articulated, with a mighty walls and a regular plant, which will remain alive for a relatively short time, until the second half of the third century. aC . It also relate a necropolis, located on the south-eastern hill. 3) In the Middle Ages (XII-XIV century AD.) Attending resumption of life at the site, witnessed by the discovery of artefacts and furniture to an island grave pit.

The excavations conducted in 1989 by the University of Turin, in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendence of Basilicata, have helped to shed new light on this important site of indigenous ellenizzato internal Lucania. Before then, in fact, were known only some of the walls and a small strip of the necropolis.

The new explorations have led to the discovery of the urban regular, set a mesh of orthogonal roads, in which five suspects were isolated. At the center of the plant was also detected a large public structure, known as the "big house", articulated in a series of rooms overlooking a central courtyard. It was designed for the consumption of meals rituals common (hestiatorion), as revealed in particular the discovery of some bothroi with obvious remains of a meal. The function of religion-politics-as well as the complex is confirmed by finding a naiskos, an altar and a stone base for a bronze statue.


The most known citizens of Pomarico were Niccolò Fiorentino (lawyer and patriot during the Neapolitan Revolution, 1799) and Francesco Caggiani (awarded with a gold medal during the World War I).
The elementary school in the city is named in honor of Caggiani.
Franco Selvaggi, member of the 1982 Italy side that won the World Cup, was from Pomarico.


Pictures taken By Spera Gerardo at Pomarico (Italy).