Craco
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|
Craco | |
---|---|
Comune di Craco | |
UTC+2 (CEST) | |
Postal code | 75010 |
Dialing code | 0835 |
Patron saint | San Vincenzo Martire di Craco |
Website | Official website |
Craco is a ghost town and comune in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. It was abandoned towards the end of the 20th century, due to faulty pipe work that was thought to have failed, causing the town to be abandoned due to a landslide. The abandonment has made Craco a tourist attraction and a popular filming location. In 2010, Craco was included in the watch list of the World Monuments Fund.[3]
Geography
Craco is about 40 km (25 mi) inland from the
) formed by intensive erosion.History
Tombs have been found dating from the 8th century BC. Around 540 BC, the area was inhabited by
From 1154 to 1168, the control of the village passed to a nobleman, Eberto, probably of Norman origin, who established the first feudal control over the town. Then in 1179, Roberto of Pietrapertosa became the landlord of Craco. Under Frederick II, Craco was an important military center and the Castle Tower hosted the Lombard prisoners who fought against the Holy Roman Emperor.
In 1276, a university was established in the town. The population increased from 450 (1277), to 655 (1477), to 1,718 (1532), until reaching 2,590 in 1561; and averaged 1,500 in succeeding centuries.
By 1799, with the proclamation of the
By 1815, the town was large enough to divide into two districts: Torrevecchia, the highest area adjacent to the castle and tower; and Quarter della Chiesa Madre, the area adjacent to San Nicola's Church. After the
With the end of the civil strife, the greatest difficulty the town faced became environmental and geological. From 1892 to 1922, over 1,300 Crachesi migrated to North America mainly due to poor agricultural conditions. In 1963, Craco began to be evacuated due to a series of
In 1972 a flood worsened the situation further, preventing a possible repopulation of the historic centre. After the 1980 Irpinia earthquake, the ancient site of Craco was completely abandoned.
In 2007, the descendants of the emigrants of Craco in the United States formed the "Craco Society", a
In popular culture
Cinema
Craco has been used as a filming location for several movies including
- La lupa (1953), dir. by Alberto Lattuada[5]
- Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979), dir. by Francesco Rosi[5]
- King David (1985), dir. by Bruce Beresford[5]
- Saving Grace (1986), dir. by Robert M. Young[5]
- The Sun Also Shines at Night (1990), dir. by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani[5]
- The Nymph (1996), dir. by Lina Wertmüller[6]
- The Passion of the Christ (2004), dir. by Mel Gibson.[7]
- The Nativity Story (2006), dir. by Catherine Hardwicke[5]
- Quantum of Solace (2008), dir. by Marc Forster[5]
- Basilicata Coast to Coast (2010), dir. by Rocco Papaleo[5]
Television
- The ancient site has been one of the filming sets for the Italian TV series Classe di ferro (1989–1991), by Bruno Corbucci.[5]
- Craco has been chosen among the locations for the Brazilian telenovela O Rei do Gado (1996–1997), directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho.[8]
- In 2015 the ghost town was the setting for a Japanese Pepsi commercial.[9]
Music
- French folk band Ödland filmed at Craco the video clip for the song "Santa Lucia", from the album Sankta Lucia (2011).[10]
- German composer Hauschka wrote the song "Craco", from the album Abandoned City (2014).[11]
- A music video for "
People
- Vincenzo, Martyr of Craco
- Director David O. Russell's maternal grandfather was originally from Craco[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- Istat)
- ^ "Historic center of Craco". wmf.org. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "The Craco Society - Basilicata". cracosociety.net. Craco Society. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Craco Cinema 2014" (PDF). comune.craco.mt.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ "Craco Cinema 2014" (in Italian). isassidimatera.com. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "The Passion of the Christ". movie-locations.com. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "O Rei Do Gado: Bastidores". teledramaturgia.com.br. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Visit these 3 Places in Italy before they're Ruined by Tour Groups". thedailymeal.com. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ "Ödland – Sankta Lucia". odland.fr. Retrieved 28 May 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Hauschka – UK Headline Tour & 'Elizabeth Bay' Video Premiere". folkradio.co.uk. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^ "Craco protagonista nel videoclip di "Paradise ft. Dermot Kennedy" dei Meduza con le immagini di Vincenzo Sidonio e Aldo Amati" (in Italian). sassilive.it. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "David O. Russell to Receive Italian-American Icon Award". hollywoodreporter.com. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
External links