Alcune riflessioni sul rapporto tra geomorfologia e popolamento in alta Val d'Agri tra la romanizzazione e l'alto Medioevo

This article deals with the close connection between landscape and ancient populations, and proposes to delineate the man – environment relationship in diachronic form. The choice of a settlement always responds to the exploitation that man intends in the area in question. The history of morphology of the upper Agri Valley is briefly presented, as well as its formation and the nature of its fluvial geomorphic units. The settlement choices of the Lucanians are then illustrated: they were scattered areas of population, with some controlling centres (fortified hill sites and shrines). Major changes were implemented by the Romans, who exploited the Romano – Lucanian city of Grumentum as a polarizing centre of population on a terrace above the valley bottom. They created a centuriated area closely connected to the morphology of the territory, in order to improve an extensive agricultural exploitation of the valley. Finally, the paper describes the processes which took place between Late Ant