Policoro is a town 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:...

in the province of Matera

Province of Matera

The Province of Matera is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera.It has an area of 3,447 km², and a total population of 203,837 . There are 31 comunes in the province . The main comunes by population are:- External links :* **...

, in the Southern Italian

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...

 region 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...

. It is bounded by the communes of Rotondella

Rotondella

Rotondella is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata....

, Scanzano Jonico

Scanzano Jonico

Scanzano Jonico is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata....

 and Tursi

Tursi

Tursi is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata.-History:In the 9th century it was a stronghold of the Saracens in southern Italy.A Catholic bishop resided in the frazione of Anglona until 968...

. Policoro is a relatively small town of approximately 15,000 inhabitants. Situated on the coast its population swells in the summertime due to an influx of tourists come to enjoy the Lido di Policoro.

Main sights

The National Museum of Siritide has a wealth of information on the Greek settlement of Heraclea

Heraclea (Lucania)

Heraclea was an ancient city of Magna Graecia, situated in Lucania on the Gulf of Tarentum , but a short distance from the sea, and between the rivers Aciris and Siris , the site of which is located in the modern comune of Policoro, Province of Matera, Basilicata,...

, the ruins of which lie on the outskirts of the town and can be viewed daily with a minimal charge.