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Tricarico, known as "città arabo-normanna (Arabic-Norman town) is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Lucania (or Basilicata). It has a population of 6,080 people. It still has amongst the best preserved medieval town centres in Lucania.

The origin of its name is, up to now, unknown but some believe the name derives from Greek word treis = three and akros, akris = summit, mount, apex, that is "cities of the three mounts".

Although of ancient origin, the first news documented about the town was in the 849, when the commune was a "longobarda" county included in the "gastaldato" of Salerno. After this period was an arabic town until the secon half of the 900. In the 968 was under the empire of Bisanzio and then, in the 1048, became a Norman fortified town. In the fiftheenth century there was a Jewis community.

Cathedral of Tricàrico

Distant cultures, also from a religious point of view have found a favorable point of encounter and development, testified not only through the art and the architecture here but also through the way the territory is used in the respect of the nature. An example of extraordinary historical importance, is the terrazzati gardens, of Arabic origin that is still in use today. The favorable historical and cultural contours that have characterized it, made Tricarico a center of primary importance in southern Italy. The roads and alleys of the historical center reflect themselves the Arabic quarters of the Ràbata and the Saracena. The recent history of Tricarico is tied to the figure of the poet Rocco Scotellaro (1923-1953), who left a number of soulful literary works and poetry about the town.

Masks in Tricarico reflect important ancestral cultures in the town and a legacy to fertility rituals. In Tricarico, Cows and Tauruses are particularly important in this respect and they are represented by masks during important festivals.

Masks of Tricàrico

The mask of cow is constituted from a hat to wide stratum covered from a scarf and a veil and richly decorated with long tapes multicolors that come down until the ankles. The mask of Taurus is identical in the composition but it is distinguished completely for being black with some red tapes. Every mask has a cowbell, various in the shape and the sound, in addition to the features of the cows or Tauruses.

Every year in the town on 17 January, a day dedicated to Saint Antonio Abbot, where it is a custom in good will of the Saint, to complete the ritual wearing the fertility masks by parading around the main church three times to receive the blessing from San Antonio.

The archaeological area of Civita is situated in close locality. It comprises a Ancient Rome\Romanfortified center that extends for approximately 50 hectares and consists of stone buildings with squared blocks, fortified with monumental doors. On the inside, some rooms introduce mosaic pavements over 2500 years old.

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Coordinates: 40°37′N, 16°09′E