Basilicata

The historical center of Craco (Matera) has been uninhabited since the 1980s due to a rock slide. The village, dubbed a “ghost town”, has found new life as a film set, and has won over famous movie directors, such as Mel Gibson.

From the spring onwards, there are several ancient rites that the people of Basilicata still dedicate to trees. The so-called “tree rites” celebrate the tree as an element of nature, a source of life and food, and a symbol of the relationship between man and nature. One of the most evocative ones is celebrated every year on the eleventh of June: it is the "marriage" between the trees, in Accettura (Matera).

The largest oil field in Western Europe is in Basilicata. Up to 110,000 barrels of crude oil are extracted per day at Tempa Rosa and Val d'Agri.