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BASILICATA

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 478 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BASILICATA , a territorial See also:

division of See also:Italy, now known as the See also:province of See also:Potenza, which formed a See also:part of the See also:ancient Lucania (q.v.). It is bounded N. by the province of See also:Foggia, N, E. by those of See also:Bari and See also:Lecce, E. by the Gulf of See also:Taranto (for a distance of 24 m.), S. by the province of See also:Cosenza, and W. by the Mediterranean(for a distance of to m. only), and by the provinces of See also:Salerno and See also:Avellino. It has an See also:area of 3845 sq. m. The province is as a whole mountainous, the highest point being the See also:Monte Pollino (7325 ft.) on the boundary of the province of Cosenza, while the Monte See also:Vulture, at the N.W. extremity; is an See also:extinct See also:volcano (4365 ft.). It is traversed by five See also:rivers; the Bradano, Basento, Cavone or Salandrella, Agri and Sinni. The longest, the Bradano, is 104 M. in length; all run S.E. or E. into the Gulf of Taranto. The province is traversed from W. to E. by the railway from See also:Naples to Taranto and See also:Brindisi, which passes through Potenza and reaches at Metaponto the See also:line along the E. See also:coast from Taranto to Reggio di See also:Calabria. A See also:branch line runs N. from Potenza via See also:Melfi to Rocchetta S. See also:Antonio, a junction for Foggia, Gioia del Colle and Avellino (the second of these lines runs through the province of Potenza as far as Palazzo S. Gervasio), while a branch S. from the Naples and Taranto line at Sicignano terminates at Lagonegro, on the W. edge of the province. Communications are rendered difficult by the mountainous See also:character of the interior. The mountains are still to some extent clothed with forests; in places the See also:soil is fertile, especially along the Gulf of Taranto, though here See also:malaria is the cause of inefficient cultivation.

See also:

Olive-oil is the most important product. The See also:total See also:population of the province was 490,705 in 1901. The See also:chief towns are Potenza (pop. 1901, 1646), See also:Avigliana (18,313), See also:Matera (17,237), Melfi (14,649), Rionero in Vulture (11,809), See also:Lauria (10,099).

End of Article: BASILICATA

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