Lauria
Encyclopedia
Lauria is a city and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

of Basilicata
Basilicata
Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, in the province of Potenza
Province of Potenza
The Province of Potenza is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza.-Geography:It has an area of 6,545 km² and a total population of 387,107 . There are 100 comuni in the province .-History:In 272 B.C. the province was conquered by the Greek army...

, situated near the borders of Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....

.

It is a walled town on the steep side of a hill with another portion in the plain below.

History

The original nucleus of the city appeared probably in the 10th century, near the place where later te Sanctuary of Madonna dell'Armo was edificated. The Castle, later attributed to Roger of Sicily, was built by Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

s. In the 12th century Lauria was the seat of a Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 fief, which was held by Gibel and then by his son Richard of Lauria, who died in the Battle of Benevento
Battle of Benevento
The Battle of Benevento was fought near Benevento, in present-day Southern Italy, on February 26, 1266, between the troops of Charles of Anjou and Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in the capture of the Kingdom of Sicily by Charles....

 on 1266.

His son Roger de Loria was a famous admiral of the 13th century.

In 1806 the city was destroyed and the population slaughtered by the French soldiers under general André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....

, as punishment for having supported the Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

 kings.

Main sights

  • The remains of the Castle (13th century)
  • The Sanctuary of the Assunta
  • The Mother Church of St. Nicholas
  • The church of St. James (15th century)
  • The Convent of Immacolata (16th century), with a noteworthy cloister

Fractions

Acqua delle Donne, Alte Coste, Borgo Seluci, Bivio Seluci, Canicella, Cavallo, Cerase, Cesinelle, Cogliandrino, Gremile, Galdo, Fabbricato, Finitime, Iacoia, Iacoia di Sotto, Madonna del Carmine, Malfitano, Mazzarella, Melara - Ovo della Vacca, Montegaldo, Pecorone, Piano Cataldo, Piano della menta, Piano Focara, Pietraferrata, Piscitella, Prestieri, Rosa, Rosa di Sotto, Rosa Molino, Santa Barbara, Santa Filomena, San Giuseppe, Santa Lucia, Seluci, Senno, Seta,Taverna del Postiere, Timparossa, Timpone di Seluci.

Transport

Lauria is not served by a near airport, anyway the nearest airport is Salerno-Pontecagnano Airport 129 km from Lauria.
Other airports are Lamezia Terme Airport and Napoli-Capodichino.
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