VENOSA

Latin Venusia, town and episcopal see, Potenza provincia, Basilicata regione, southern Italy. It is situated on the lower slope of Mount Vulcano, north of Potenza. Originally a settlement of the Lucanians (an ancient Italic tribe), it was taken by the Romans after the Samnite Wars (291 BC); from its position on the Appian Way it became an important Roman garrison town. The poet Horace was born there, and many of his poems mention places in the vicinity. Stones from the local Roman amphitheatre are built into the walls of the abbey church of Santa Trinit (1059). The church contains the tombs of the Norman soldier of fortune Robert Guiscard, his first wife, and his half brothers. The town's massive 15th-century castle and the cathedral (1470) are also notable, and north of the town are Jewish catacombs with inscriptions from the 4th and 5th centuries. Venosa is an agricultural centre producing olive oil and paper. Pop. (1988 est.) mun., 12,208.