Based on archeological findings, the first settlements in the Maratea region date back to the
Paleolithic era. In the 15th–14th century BC a village grew up on top of the little headland called
La Timpa. This was a small trading center, and its existence is documented until the 2nd century BC, when the
Romans conquered
Lucania. During the Roman era, the region continued to be a trade center: on the seabed near
Santo Janni island dozens of ancient anchors have been found, and these are now on display in the local museum. After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire, southern Italy became part of the
Byzantine Empire, starting from the
Gothic Wars (6th century). From the 7th century, the Tyrrhenian Sea came under the control of the
Saracens, (Sicily became a Muslim emirate in the 9th century), who sacked numerous towns. So, for safety reasons, the local inhabitants moved to the high ground of
Mount San Biagio, where they built the so-called
Castello, a little fortified urban centre. In 732 a ship, fleeing the religious persecution of
Leo III the Isaurian, brought the sacred remains of
Saint Blaise to Maratea, who thereafter became the patron saint of the town. The remains of the saint are still kept in the Maratea's Basilica, which is built over an ancient temple of
Minerva. In 1077 Maratea, together with the rest of Southern Italy, was conquered by the
Normans. In the 11th-12th century, since the
Castello could no longer accommodate the increasing population, some of the people of Maratea decided to found a new urban centre, historically called the
Borgo (a word that means "village" in
Italian). Today the ancient
Borgo is the principal urban centre of Maratea. In view of the risk from Saracen attacks, the
Borgo was situated behind Mount San Biagio, so that it could not be seen from the sea. In 1282 the
War of the Sicilian Vespers began, in which the houses of
Angevins and
Aragon fought for control of the
Kingdom of Naples. The war ended in 1302, but the dispute continued for another century. Between 1302 and 1496, thanks to its loyalty to the royal house, Maratea was awarded numerous grants of autonomy. The
Castello was put under siege in 1441, by
Lauria (a nearby town), and in 1495 by Angevins soldiers. On both occasion it resisted successfully. From 1566 to 1595, six guardhouse-towers were built along the coastline, to protect the new villages that had developed in the meantime:
Acquafredda,
Cersuta and
Porto. On 2 May 1676 the village of the
Borgo was besieged by 160 bandits. However, the guards of the
Castello killed the bandit leader and captured the remainder of the gang. In the 18th century Maratea entered a period of progress and prosperity; on April 12, 1734, the first hospital of
Basilicata was opened in the town. Many of the so-called 44 churches were built during this period. When
Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed his brother
Joseph King of Naples, Maratea was one of the few cities which did not accept French supremacy. In August 1806 the nearby town of
Lauria, whose citizens also refused to acknowledge Napoleon, was set on fire by general
André Masséna. Alessandro Mandarini, mayor of Maratea and commander of its castle, believing that Maratea would be the next target, evacuated the inhabitants to
Sicily. Since Mandarini had been promised relief from the English army, he remained, with only 1,000 men, to defend the castle and the town. After three days under siege, Mandarini, who did not receive any help by the English, was forced to surrender (December 10, 1806). In token of their great admiration for the brave resistance, the French spared the lives of the rebels, but ordered them to pull down the walls of the castle. The latter was slowly abandoned during the 19th and 20th century. After the return of the
House of Bourbon to the throne of
Naples, a movement developed that would have brought about the political unification of the peninsula. In 1848, one of its leaders, the revolutionary Costabile Carducci, was killed after years of being hunted by the Neapolitan militia. In 1861, Italy was finally united. However, at this time Maratea suffered extreme poverty, in common with the rest of
Basilicata. Many of its inhabitants emigrated to the
United States or to
Venezuela, and with their economic help Maratea was connected to the railway network in 1894, built its first aqueduct in 1902, had electrical connection from 1924, and tarred roads connected the
Old Town with the outlying districts on the coast in 1930. Thanks to the help of Stefano Rivetti, an Italian industrialist, in the 1950s the economic situation of Maratea improved: factories (a wooden-mill and an industrial estate) and many hotels were opened. ==Main sights==