Overview
A story similar to that of nearby Craco involved Campomaggiore Vecchio, abandoned after the consequences of a terrible landslide in 1885. Unlike Craco, which was built on a steep cliff in the Middle Ages, Campomaggiore was founded much later according to an ideal city project. At the beginning of the 18th century, the architect Giovanni Patturelli was called by the Lucanian aristocratic family of the Rendina barons to design from scratch a small town with perfectly regular and harmonious geometries. On 30 December 1741, Campomaggiore was officially a reality and welcomed its first residents, convinced by the proposed agreement of the Rendina barons. The settlers would receive land on which to build and cultivate, in exchange for work and taxes to be paid to the feudal family and founder of Campomaggiore. The town continued to grow for more than a century thanks to the continuous social and architectural initiatives of the Rendina barons, until the 1885 landslide that interrupted the utopian dream of this ideal city with a Lucanian heart. Today, visitors can stroll through the ruins of Campomaggiore Vecchio that host artistic installations , dance and theatre shows and explanatory panels that help imagine life in the country before its early and tragic ruin.
