Altopiano delle Murge

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Landscape of the Murge plateau Murge Castel del Monte.jpg
Landscape of the Murge plateau

The Altopiano delle Murge (Italian for 'plateau of the Murge') is a karst topographic plateau of rectangular shape in southern Italy. Most of it lies within Puglia and corresponds with the sub-region known as Murgia or Le Murge. The plateau lies mainly in the Metropolitan City of Bari and the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, but extends into the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto to the south, and into Matera in Basilicata to the west. The name is believed to originate from the Latin : murex, meaning 'sharp stone'.

Contents

Geography and geology

The Murge plateau covers a surface of some 4,000 km², bordered by the Ofanto river and the Tavoliere delle Puglie to the north, the Adriatic Sea to the northeast, and by the Messapic depression, which separates it from the Salento peninsula, to the south. It is usually divided into Alta Murgia (High Murgia), the highest area, with poorer vegetation, and Bassa Murgia (Lower Murgia), with more fertile land, extensively planted with olive-trees for the production of olives.

The plateau is geologically homogeneous to a great extent, and lies mostly on the limestone formations of Calcare di Ban and Calcare di Altamura, with terra rossa deposits present in the sequence. [1] The rocks are mostly Cretacic limestone, so that karst landscapes prevail in the area, with doline fields, some large dolines, sinkholes, and caves. The largest dolines are near Altamura, Gravina, and Molfetta. The large karstic doline of Molfetta is known locally as the 'Pulo' and lies south-west of the town, near the Adriatic coast, taking the form of an oval-shaped depression with a depth of some thirty metres. [2] Near Castellana Grotte are the Castellana Caves, the most important in the Puglia region. The highest point of the plateau is called Monte Caccia, at 679 m.

The climate is cold in winter, with average temperatures in the 1-6 °C range. In summer, they rise up to 30 °C. Rain, unlike in the arid Salento nearby, has an annual average of ca. 950 mm.

Economy

Historically, the Murge have been the seat of transhumance practice in animal husbandry, since at least the first millennium BC, [3] with cattle being moved to Abruzzo in summer, and southwards during winter.

Until the 19th century, agriculture was characterized by large latifundia, owned by a few landowners, and the relative lack of water, forming part of a region sometimes called "the feudal South". [4] Present-day economic activities include marble quarries, and the production of olives, wine, almonds, cherries, and mulberries. The animals grazed include sheep, goats, domestic pigs, and cattle.[ citation needed ]

A local breed of horse, known as Murgese, has been bred here since the Middle Ages. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the breed was ridden by Italian knights. In later centuries, the Murgese almost died out, but was revived in the 1920s. [5]

40°58′34″N16°24′22″E / 40.97611°N 16.40611°E / 40.97611; 16.40611

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulo di Altamura</span>

Pulo di Altamura is a doline located on the Murge plateau. It is the largest doline in that region and it is located about 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) north-west of the city of Altamura. It shares the local toponym pulo with other large dolines of the region, i.e. Pulicchio di Gravina, Pulo di Molfetta and Pulicchio di Toritto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulicchio di Gravina</span>

Pulicchio di Gravina is the second-largest doline in the Murge plateau after Pulo di Altamura. It falls into the territory of Gravina in Puglia, located about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) north of the latter, close to the border with Altamura's territory. It shares the local toponym pulo with other large dolines of the region, i.e. Pulo di Altamura, Pulo di Molfetta and Pulicchio di Toritto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurio Lamanna</span>

Gurio Lamanna is a doline shaped like a coat of arms located in the Murge plateau and falling into Gravina in Puglia's territory, on the border with Altamura, Apulia, southern Italy. It is "one of the largest karst landforms of the Murge plateau" and it is located very close to other two dolines, namely Pulicchio di Gravina and Tre Paduli. Depending on the type of geomorphologic classification employed and the author who suggested it, the karst landform can be defined either a doline or a "karst basin". It is traditionally called "karst basin", following the suggestion of Carmelo Colamonico, who first studied the doline and saw in its large size and shallow depth a good reason to distinguish it from a normal doline. The definition of "karst basin", used by Carmelo Colamonico, has been introduced by Renato Biasutti. Carmelo Colamonico stated that Gurio Lamanna is "one of the best examples of karst basin in the Murge plateau".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lama (geology)</span>

Lama is a local toponym that denotes a wide furrow in the ground typical of the Murge landscape. Lamas convey rainwater from the Murge plateau to the endpoint of the drainage basin they belong to.

Vito Carmelo Colamonico (Colamonaco) was an Italian geographer, geologist and scholar. His works include studies on some karst dolines and landforms of Italy, such as Pulo di Altamura, Pulicchio di Gravina and Gurio Lamanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulo di Molfetta</span> Doline in Molfetta, Italy

Pulo di Molfetta is a doline located on the Murge plateau, in Apulia, southern Italy, around 1.5 kilometers (0.93 mi) south-west of the city of Molfetta. It originated due to the collapse of the ceiling of one or more caves. It shares the local toponym pulo with other large dolines of the region, i.e. Pulicchio di Gravina, Pulo di Molfetta and Pulicchio di Toritto.

Murge may refer to:

Angela Bianca Tragni is an Italian journalist and writer. Over her career, she carried out research in the culture of the Italian region Apulia and folklore of Southern Italy. She also wrote books on history, especially the Middle Ages.

References

  1. Marino Maggetti, Bruno Messiga, Geomaterials in Cultural Heritage (2006), p. 51
  2. Dragos Gheorghiu, Early Farmers, Late Foragers, and Ceramic Traditions (2009), p. 97
  3. T. H. Carpenter, K. M. Lynch, E. G. D. Robinson, The Italic People of Ancient Apulia (2014), p. 16
  4. Dino Carpanetto, Giuseppe Ricuperati, Italy in the age of reason, 1685-1789, Volume 5 (1987), p. 25
  5. Andrea Fitzpatrick, The Ultimate Guide to Horse Breeds (2016), p. 212