Tricarico
Tricarico ( ; ) is a town and "comune" in the province of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy. It is home to one of the best preserved medieval historical centres in Lucania. Etymology. The origin of the name Tricarico is unknown. It might derive from the Greek "treis" ("three") and "cara" ("head"/"skull" in Hellenistic-era Greek: η κάρα, τό κάρα, η κάρη). That is ""having three heads"". According to a slightly different hypothesis, it could have originally been "Triacricon", deriving from the Greek words " tria"/"treis" and "acron"/"acra", which during Antiquity and Early Middle Ages meant both an "apex/summit", and a "citadel", with  Triacricon thus meaning a city made by connecting ""three citadels"". These three "acra"/citadels were no other than the site of the 9th c Arabic castle of "Saracena" in the north, the site of a 9th-10th c Byzantine "Rocca fortificata" in the south, improved during the 11th-12th c by the Normans, and then, during the 13th c, by the Hohenstaufen, and also the site of the 14th c "Palazzo Ducale" in the middle. Probably the three sites were simultaneously fortified even before the successive occupations. History. Although of ancient origin, the first news documented about the town dates to 849, when  it was a Lombard county included in the gastaldate of Salerno. Later (9th century - late 10th century) it was an Arabic stronghold. The terrace gardens, of Arabic origin, are still in use today. In 968 Tricarico was conquered by the Byzantine Empire, and then, in 1048, it became a Norman fortified town. In the 15th century, there was a Jewish community. Main sights. The roads and alleys of the historical center reflect the Arabic quarters of the Ràbata and the Saracena. Sights in the town include: The archaeological area of Civita is situated outside the city. It includes a Roman  fortified center that extends for approximately and consists of stone buildings with squared blocks, fortified with monumental doors. In the interior, some rooms have mosaic pavements over 2,500 years old. Also present is the "Cerra del Cedro" archaeological site, inhabited from as early as the 6th century to the 3rd century BC. References. <BR>