Archeonaut - APT Basilicata

AMBER, THE MAGIC STONE THAT BURNS.A JOURNEY FROMHow to get to PolicoroTHE NORTH TO BASILICATAThe Greeks called it elektron, fromwhich comes our word “electricity”, theRomans, succinum, “juice of trees” (i.e.resin), the Germans glaes, from whichcomes our word “glass” in English. Thisis amber, the fossilised resin that givesoff fragrant and purifying fumes whenburnt and can be shaped by humanhands to form amulets, jewellery andornaments. This has all been done sincetime immemorial, from when peoplesall over Europe, having discoveredthis “contracted sun” in the area ofthe Baltic Sea, began to exploit itsproperties: to perfume, beautify, wardoff evil and heal.Amber is found among the artefactsdisplayed in almost all the museums inBasilicata and was used in particular injewellery, totemic objects and inlaid inweapons, indicating that the peoplesliving knew its virtues since the earliesttimes. It came mainly from the northof Europe, arriving along the “amberroad”, a route that began from theoutlets of the river Vistula and followedthe course of the Danube, and then theInn, as far as the outlets of the Po (orEridanus, the river in which Phaetondied). The amber was then broughtfrom there, ready to be moulded byskilled and creative hands in Etruria,Lazio, Piceno, and all of southern Italy.The “amber road” remained open andparticularly in use from the 7th to themid-4th century BC.BY TRAINInfo: www.trenitalia.comBY PLANEBARI-PALESE AIRPORT 50 Km from Matera Info: +39 080 5835200BY CARA14 BOLOGNA-BARI exit at Bari Nord and take the first exit (Zona Industriale)immediately after the motorway toll boothA1 FLORENCE-ROME: proceed as far as Caserta, take the A30 Caserta-Salernomotorway, then the A3 Salerno-Reggio Calabria, exit at Sicignano-Potenza and thencontinue towards Metaponto and then towards PolicoroA3 SALERNO-REGGIO CALABRIA: take the Sibari exit, and then proceed along the SS.106 Ionica PolicoroInfo: www.autostrade.itBY BUSwww.ibus.itArchaeologicalArea andNational MuseumPolicoroGPS: N 40° 12’ 41’’ E 16° 40’ 21’’Amber Parurefrom Chiaromonte50 51