Garaguso is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.

Garaguso
Comune di Garaguso
Location of Garaguso
Map
Garaguso is located in Italy
Garaguso
Garaguso
Location of Garaguso in Italy
Garaguso is located in Basilicata
Garaguso
Garaguso
Garaguso (Basilicata)
Coordinates: 40°33′N 16°14′E / 40.550°N 16.233°E / 40.550; 16.233
CountryItaly
RegionBasilicata
ProvinceMatera (MT)
FrazioniParata
Government
 • MayorFrancesco Auletta
Area
 • Total38.62 km2 (14.91 sq mi)
Elevation
460 m (1,510 ft)
Population
 (2013)[2]
 • Total1,108
 • Density29/km2 (74/sq mi)
DemonymGaragusani
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
75010
Dialing code0835
Patron saintGaudentius of Rimini
Saint day14 August
WebsiteOfficial website

Geography edit

Garaguso is an agricultural center in the upper valley of the Cavone River. The town is situated on a 460-metre (1,510 ft) hill and is bordered to the north by the town of Grassano, to the east by Salandra, to the south by San Mauro Forte, and west with Oliveto Lucano and Calciano.

History edit

The results of archaeological investigations indicate that the area was inhabited since prehistoric times. The temple of Garaguso, Heroon is of note, revealing a strong Greek presence in the area.[3]

In 1060, Garaguso was included in the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Tricarico. Important findings come from the territory are kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Basilicata, documenting an indigenous culture from the Iron Age to the fifth century BC.[3] The museum contains marble dating from the first half of the fifth century BC: a model of the Heroon temple and a statue of a goddess sitting.[4]

In the feudal period, Garaguso belonged to the Sanseverinos[4] and in turn the Salandra family until 1813. The 1694 earthquake destroyed the original settlement further down the hill and was rebuilt by the Revettera di Salandra family in the XVIII century.[4] A hunting lodge was built and is now called the Palace. The building is accessed by a path carved into the rock It has a central courtyard where there was also the family chapel that later enlarged to become the main church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra.[3]

This parish church of Garguso dates to the eighteenth-century and has a clay sculpture of the fifteenth century depicting the Madonna della Puglia and a canvas painted in 1761 by Deodato da Tolve.[3] In 1702, Cardinal Gaspare Carpegna donated a leg bone of Gaudentius of Rimini from Ostra to the parish priest, and in 1794, Fortunato Pinto [it], the bishop of Tricarico, donated an arm bone to the same parish.[5] Gaudentius remains Garaguso's patron saint, though he is unusually celebrated on 14 August,[5][6] rather than his death date on 14 October, so as not to interrupt the mid-October sowing season.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Storia e tradizioni". Comune of Garaguso. Archived from the original on November 19, 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c "Garaguso". APT Basilicata. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "San Gaudenzo, un santo senza pace" [San Gaudenzo: A saint without peace]. Rimini Sparita (in Italian). 23 September 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  6. ^ "San Gaudenzo, storia e misteri del patrono di Rimini" [San Gaudenzo, history and mysteries of the patron saint of Rimini]. RiminiToday (in Italian). 18 October 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2024.