Between 1990 and 2007, excavations on the hill of Palecastro di Tortora investigated large sectors of the Lucanian town of Blanda and the Roman colony of Blanda Iulia, a small centre but the administrative, political and commercial hub of a much vaster territory at the mouth of the river Noce. The site was occupied from the archaic period until the first half of the 5th century A.D. and later became a bishop’s see until at least 743 A.D. The Enotrian phase is documented by residual stratigraphy, the Lucanian phase by the remains of the foundations of houses situated along _plateia_ A on a NE-SW alignment. This latter phase is also represented by several sections of the fortifications running along the edge of the large summit plateau (115 m a.s.l.), enclosing an area of almost 5 ha. Around the mid 1st century B.C., a small forum area was constructed, constituted by a square (27 x 27 m), perfectly orientated with the cardinal points, with buildings on three sides. On the north side there was a row of quadrangular shops/workshops; there was a second row of shops/workshops on the east side, here preceded by a portico of the same depth and by a fountain. The south side was constituted by a long narrow structure with a pillared façade, which had a monumental entrance, facing the square. This building can be interpreted as the basilica; the base of a statue of M. Arrio Clymeno, _duumvir_ of Blanda, abutted one of the columns. The fourth side of the forum was closed by three Italic podium temples (A, B, C). The two largest, B and C, were centred on the square’s east-west axis, while the third, A, smaller and better-preserved, was further south and set back with respect to the façades of the other two. It was perhaps built in a later period, at the time of the deduction of the triumviral colony, which required the construction of an actual Capitolium. A fourth building E, stood at the centre of the square, on a different axis from those on the Capitolium and stratigraphically datable to the mid imperial period, perhaps post mid 2nd century A.D. when the temples and workshops/shops present clear signs of destruction and partial rebuilding probably following an earthquake. A complex system of channels for collecting and draining rainwater into a fountain abutted the eastern portico. The channels were filled with materials datable to within the late 4th /early 5th centuries A.D. West of the forum (C, D, and E), two _insulae_ were almost completely uncovered. They were separated by small roads (crossed by a brick-built underground sewer with a ventilation shaft, built around the mid 1st century A.D.). The roads ran at right angles to the main west-east road and only survived in a bad state of preservation at foundation level, due to the natural erosion of the hill summit. The 2016 excavations investigated part of the unexcavated forum area, in particular the north-eastern and eastern sectors, the area in front of temples B and C. In the south-western part of the forum, in the zone abutting temple A, a workshop/shop was excavated, which faced onto _plateia_ A that entered the forum at this point.

L’indagine sul colle del Palecastro di Tortora, in corso dal 1990 al 2007 ed ora dal 2016 sino ad oggi, interessa ampi settori dell’abitato lucano di Blanda e della colonia romana Iulia di Blanda, un centro di piccole dimensioni, fulcro amministrativo, politico e commerciale di un più vasto territorio alla foce del fiume Noce, in vita dall’epoca arcaica sino alla prima metà del V sec. d.C. e poi sede vescovile almeno sino al 743 d.C. La fase enotria e lucana sono documentate la prima da stratigrafie residuali, la seconda da resti di edifici abitativi posti lungo una _plateia_ A oltre che dalle fortificazioni, che corrono sul ciglio del pianoro sommitale, recingendo un’area di 5 ha. Alla metà del I sec. a.C. viene costruito il Foro, con piazza perfettamente orientata, bordata su tre lati da edifici: sui lati nord e sud abbiamo botteghe quadrangolari procedute da portico e una fontana; sul lato sud la Basilica. Sul quarto lato era il _Capitolium_: tre edifici templari di tipo italico su podio (A, B, C). Il terzo, A, più piccolo e meglio conservato, risulta spostato più a Sud ed arretrato rispetto all’allineamento delle fronti degli altri. I tempietti e le botteghe presentano segni evidenti di distruzione e parziale rifacimento in seguito presumibilmente ad un terremoto. Il settore di abitato ad Ovest del Foro (C, D ed E) ha restituito quasi per intero due isolati, separati tra loro da strade minori, ortogonali all’asse principale Ovest-Est. Gli interventi 2016-2017 hanno permesso di indagare parte dell’area del Foro, in specie i settori nord-est ed est, l’area prospiciente i tempietti B e C e di scavare, a ridosso del tempietto A, le fasi enotrie dell’abitato e due piccoli edifici di II-III sec. d.C., affacciati sulla plateia A.

The first excavations took place on the hill of Palecastro di Tortora between 1990 and 2007 and were reopened in 2016. The investigations involve large sectors of the Lucanian city of _Blanda_ and the Roman colony of _Iulia_ at Blanda, a small town that was the administrative, political and commercial hub of a larger territory at the mouth of the river Noce, occupied from the archaic period until the first half of the 5th century A.D. It was the seat of the bishop’s see until at least 743 A.D. The Enotrian and Lucanian phases are first represented by residual stratigraphy, and then by the remains of houses situated along _plateia_ A and by the fortifications, which ran along the edge of the summit plateau, enclosing an area of 5 hectares. The forum was built in the mid 1st century B.C. Its perfectly aligned piazza was bordered by buildings on three sides: on the north and south sides there were quadrangular shops with a portico in front and a fountain; the basilica stood on the south side. The _Capitolium_, with three temples of the Italic podium type (A, B, C), stood on the fourth side. The third temple, A, smaller and better-preserved, faced south and was set back compared to the facades of the other two. The temples and shops showed clear signs of destruction and partial rebuilding, presumably following an earthquake. In the residential area to the west of the forum (C, D, E), almost two entire _insulae_ have been uncovered, separated by secondary roads, at right angles to the main west-east road. The 2018 excavations saw work in the north-east and east sectors of the forum and also in the western sector outside the so-called Temple A. Here, the Enotrian phases of the settlement, datable to between the mid 6th and first half of the 5th century B.C., were uncovered for the first time.

The excavations on the hill of Palecastro di Tortora, between 1990-2007 and from 2016 onwards, involve large sectors of the Lucanian settlement of _Blanda_ and the Roman colony of _Iulia_ _Blanda_, a small town at the mouth of the river Noce that was the administrative, political and commercial centre of a much larger territory. The site was occupied from the archaic period until the first half of the 5th century A.D., and became the seat of the bishop’s see at least until 743 A.D. The Enotrian phase was attested by residual stratigraphy, Lucanian phase by the remains of residential buildings situated along _plateia_ A and by the fortifications running along the edge of the summit plateau, enclosing an area of 5 ha. The forum was built in the mid 1st century B.C., bordered on three sides by buildings: to the north and east were quadrangular workshops fronted by a portico and a fountain, to the south stood the basilica. The fourth side was occupied by the _Capitolium_: three Italic type podium temples (A, B, C). Temple A, the smallest and best-preserved, was positioned slightly further south and back from the line of the other temple facades. The temples and workshops presented clear signs of destruction and partial rebuilding, presumably following an earthquake. In the residential sector west of the forum (C, D, E), two almost intact _insula_ have been identified, separated by smaller roads at right-angles to the main W-E road. The 2016-2019 interventions took place in the forum, in particular the north-east and east sectors, the area in front of temples B and C, the excavation of the Enotrian phases in the area abutting temple A, and two small 2nd-3rd century A.D. buildings facing onto _plateia_ A. (Fabrizio Moro)