Policòro (Pulecòre in the local dialect) is an Italian town of 17,888 inhabitants in the province of Matera in Basilicata.
Resort Marinagri
National archaeological museum of Siritide
Bosco Pantano di Policoro oriented nature reserve
The films shot in the Policoro area are:
Berlin Chamissoplatz,
directed by Rudolf Thome (1980)
Libera nos a malo, directed by Fulvio
Wetzl (2008)
Basilicata coast to coast, directed by Rocco Papaleo
(2010)
Operation Holiday, directed by Claudio Fragasso (2012)
Celebrity Hunted: Manhunt, season 1, produced by Endemol Shine Italy and
distributed by Prime Video (2020)
Blues in Town: organized annually by the cultural association La Mela
of Odessa, this summer festival, born in 2004.
Policoro in Swing:
conceived and organized by the ALIA cultural association until 2015 and
subsequently by the Vintage Routes cultural association, since 2013 it
has been held every year at the end of August.
Balloon - Comics and
children's literature festival: it is a summer cultural event born in
2012.
Experience Heraclea: organized annually by the cultural
association I Colori dell'Anima, this summer event takes place in the
archaeological park of the Siritide national museum.
Policoro is located on the fertile plain of
Metaponto 3 kilometers from the Ionian Sea near the Agri river
(swamp) in the south-eastern part of the province. It is the second
center of the province of Matera, the third in the region, as a
population and second in the province as regards economic
importance. It borders to the north with the municipality of
Scanzano Jonico (9 km), to the east with the Ionian Sea (3 km), to
the south with Rotondella (23 km) and to the west with the
territories of Tursi (27 km). It is 65 km from Matera and 129 km
from the regional capital Potenza.
Seismic classification:
zone 2 (medium-high seismicity), PCM Ordinance n. 3274 of
20/03/2003.
According to the average data for the thirty years 1961-1990, the average temperature of the coldest month, January, is +7.8 ° C, while that of the hottest month, August, is +25.4 ° C.
The name derives from the ancient Greek Polychoron (Πολύχωρον). The
modern city rises a short distance from the ruins of the ancient city of
Eraclea, an important center of Magna Graecia built in the 6th century
BC, where in 280 BC. the Romans fought Pyrrhus. The ancient city was
part of the Siritide region, near Siris. According to other different
historical-archaeological interpretations, Siris was located in the same
territory as Eraclea. In fact, according to these reconstructions, the
foundation of Eraclea took place near the same town as the flourishing
and rich Siris.
Throughout the Republican age, Heraclea was hit
by social turmoil, which reached its peak in 72 BC. with the passage of
Spartacus' rebellion. Recent archaeological excavations by the
Italian-French archaeological mission conducted by the University of
Basilicata and the École pratique des hautes études have brought to
light the evidence attesting to Spartacus' rebellion against Heraclea.
From archaeological excavations it emerged that, during the passage of
Spartacus' rebellion, the richest part of the acropolis of Heraclea was
besieged through the use of weapons of war. In the imperial age,
however, its decline began. The poet Archias and the great painter
Zeuxis, perhaps originally from the city, resided there.
From the
Middle Ages a small urban center developed near the Baronial Castle.
From 1300 to 1600, the fiefdom of Policoro, in full decline, became the
property of the Sanseverino family, with passages between the various
descendants. A prince of that family, in 1600, to obtain the recovery of
a son from a serious illness, donated the fiefdom to the Jesuits, who
held it for a long time, transforming the castle into a monastery. On 21
November 1772 the Jesuits were expelled from the Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies by King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon. All their assets, including
the "uninhabited" fiefdom of Policoro, were confiscated by the Royal Tax
Authority. The fiefdom of Policoro was sold at auction and purchased by
the noblewoman Maria Grimaldi, princess of Gerace. At the end of April
1799, on the 29th and 30th, in the former monastery of Policoro,
transformed again into a castle, Cardinal Ruffo stayed, guest of the
princess of Gerace, while he was out with his soldiers to quell the
revolt against Bourbon absolutism; in May 1806 King Giuseppe Bonaparte
stayed in the castle during his journey from Reggio Calabria to Naples.
In 1959 it ceased to be a fraction of Montalbano Jonico and became
an independent municipality. Since the 1960s there has been a notable
demographic increase, thanks to the population coming from the Lucanian
hinterland who settled in the municipality, which has led Policoro to be
the third center in the region by number of inhabitants, as well as one
of the most important in terms of economical being located in the center
of the Metapontino plain.
Although a few "steps" from the sea, the city of Policoro mostly has
an agricultural culture that began in the sixties with the sugar factory
and continued over time mainly supported by the cultivation of kiwis and
strawberries. Only in recent years has there been an increase in tourism
thanks also to the recent construction of tourist works.
Agriculture: the valuable crops are of considerable importance,
especially strawberries, typical of the Metaponto area. In fact, the
area has a strong presence of fruit compacting farms. In this sense,
exports to Europe are the strong point of the local economy.
Tourism:
seaside tourism is undergoing strong development and archaeological
tourism is important: in this regard, the presence of the National
Archaeological Museum of Siritide is worth mentioning, which presents
the finds found in Heraclea according to a chronological itinerary from
the Neolithic to the Roman.
Industry: industries, especially small
companies, are experiencing notable development. These are textile
companies, pasta factories and iron processing companies. Commercial
activities and services are also developed.
Crafts: among the most
traditional and renowned activities are crafts, linked to peasant and
pastoral culture. These are activities for the art of ceramics,
porcelain and terracotta.
Cycling
On 25 May 1984 the 8th stage of the 1984 Giro d'Italia
started from Policoro with destination Agropoli.
On 12 May 2003 the
3rd stage of the 2003 Giro d'Italia started from Policoro with
destination Terme Luigiane.
On May 16, 2004, the 8th stage of the
2004 Giro d'Italia ended in Policoro.
Soccer
Until the 2009
championship, the city had Policoro 2000 Calcio as its city team.
In the 2009-2010 championship there are two teams representing the
city: the A.S.D. Policoro 2000 and the A.S.D. Borussia Pleiade, both
militants in the Lucanian Excellence.
Since the 2010-2011
championship the two teams have formed a single team that takes to the
field, always in Excellence, with the name of the Policoro Heraclea
Amateur Sports Association.
5-a-side football
In the 2010/2011
championship the Avis Sports Center obtained promotion to the 5-a-side
football series B. Renamed Avis Borussia Policoro, it currently plays in
the Serie A2 group B.