Blanda

About

Blanda (Greek: Βλάνδα), and later Blanda Julia, was an ancient city of Lucania now located at Palecastro di Tortora, Province of Cosenza, Italy. It was mentioned by Ptolemy among the inland towns of that province; but placed both by Pliny and Mela on or near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The former writer includes it in Bruttium, but this seems to be a mistake: Livy, who mentions Blanda among the towns which had revolted to the Carthaginians, but were recovered by Fabius in 214 BCE, expressly calls it a Lucanian city. (Liv. xiv. 20; Plin. iii. 5. s. 10; Mel. ii. 4; Ptol. iii. 1. § 70.) The Tabula Peutingeriana also places it on the road along the coast of Lucania.

History: In the mid-6th century BC the Oenotrians began their colonisation of the coast, probably coming from Vallo di Diano. Their presence in the area was ascertained by the discovery of 38 tombs with Oenotrian funerary objects, by a lithic stele, as well as by the original nucleus of the town. In the middle of the following century the settlement was abandoned, perhaps due to an earthquake. In the 4th century BC the Palècastro hill was occupied by the Lucanians who rebuilt the village, fortifying it with a city...