Valsinni is a village 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 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...

 region of southern 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...

.

The village is bordered by Colobraro

Colobraro

Colobraro is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. The town is positioned on a high hill dominating the valley of river Sinni near the town of Valsinni....

, Nocara

Nocara

Nocara is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy....

, Noepoli

Noepoli

Noepoli is a comune in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. This ancient Lucanian village is situated in an idyllic position in the Sarmento Valley, at the heart of the Pollino National Park.-History:...

, Nova Siri

Nova Siri

Nova Siri is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Nova Siri is close to the site of the ancient Ionian colony of Siris. Nova Siri is formed by 2 small cities: Nova Siri Centre and Nova Siri Station. The centre is sited on a hill at 350 m above...

, Rotondella

Rotondella

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

 and San Giorgio Lucano

San Giorgio Lucano

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

.

History

The territory of the comune includes the ruins of the ancient city of Lagaria

Lagaria

Lagaria , was an ancient town of Lucania, situated between Thurii and the river Siris .According to a legend, it was founded by a colony of Phocians under the command of Epeius, the architect of the Trojan Horse...

. Its most famous buildings which are part of Valsinni's heritage are: the Castle, dating back to the 11th century, where the Italian Renaissance poetess Isabella Morra lived and died, the Palazzo Melidoro, the Chiesa Madre (mother church) of medieval origins and the Chiesa dell'Annunziata from the 17th century.

Economy

The town has an ancient tradition of millers, whose symbol is the mill of Palazzo Mauri, which is still supplied with large stone wheels.
The economy of the town is mostly based on agriculture and livestock breeding.

Festivals

Major festival of Valsinni is on the 9th and 10th of May when there is a religious procession for the patron Saint Fabian.

People

Isabella Morra

Isabella Morra

-Life and work:Isabella was the daughter of Luisa Brancaccio and Giovan Michele Morra, baron of Favale, part of Naples. Isabella, her mother and her seven siblings were abandoned by Giovan when he went to live at court in France. Her older brother Marcantonio then took over power in Favale.Isabella...

, the 15th century writer and poet, came from Valsinni when it was known as Favale San Cataldo.