centro storico, collinare, agricolo, difensivo, San Marco Argentano, San Marco (denominazione storica, 969 d.C.), Argyrano (denominazione storica, Lucani), Argentanum (denominazione storica, periodo romano, 282 a.C.), Argyros (denominazione originaria, 720-510 a.C.)

San Marco Argentano’s historic centre follows the land’s contours, a dense weave of districts, brick-built noble houses and episodes of medieval life. The oldest quarter, Santa Maria, dates from the Lombard period. Closer to the great watchtower, known as the Torre di Drogone, lies the Giudecca, the old Jewish quarter, strung along the ridge that connects to the cathedral. Other nodes of growth include the convent of the Riformati, which acts as a gateway, and the seminary.

The town’s history is layered. In the ancient Greek era of Sybaris (720-510 BC), this was Argyros, ‘city of silver’, named for the incuse coinage minted there. The Romans knew it as Argentanum; the Lucanians, as Argyrano. Below the hill, some sixty rural hamlets spread across the valley, among them Iotta, with its raw-earth brick houses, and Scarniglia, dotted with 16th-century country villas. Further off, the remains of the Cistercian Abbey della Matina stand, half-lost within a farmstead by the Fullone river.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.