History

Its origins are related to those of its Norman-Swabian castle (LINK), The Palatium Regium, that gave its name to the village and followed its historical events. Indeed, the village developed around the XI cent., from the manor, with the construction  of the houses in which people who worked for the liege lords lived.   The royal palace Fredrick II renovated the castle earmarking it for hunting and as a resort. Palazzo S. Gervasio became a royal manor farm and was included in the system of farms founded by the emperor in the state owned lands directly dependent on him. The manor farm of Palazzo S. Gervasio produced grain and products from sheep, the latter also sold on the external market. In addition, under the Swabian emperor the place was promoted to “Maristalle”, that is a royal stud farm for stallions, hacks and young horses destined to the royal militia and the court. After 1250, when the emperor died, the castle hosted Manfredi, natural child of Fredrick II and for few years emperor himself. The main street is to this day dedicated to him: according to anecdotes, the king passed through that way to go from the Palatium to the stables. The imperial marescallia Right after the death of Manfredi (1266), the Angevin king Carlo I turned S. Gervasio’s estate into a defending outpost of Basilicata. Some supporting material dated back to 1281 shows that the “marescallia of S.Gervasio” was the place for the well-bred horses, bred by the Angevin king. The deer around the palace were so abundant that 600 deer antlers were shipped to Naples in 1360 to tailor rings for 3400 crossbows. The royal defense became fief in the first half of ‘400,during the reign of Giovanna I d’Angiò, and it had a turbulent history, with an important developing period for the local economy, particularly prosperous in the XVIII century. A variety of lieges took turns, among which the countess Ruffo, the Marquise of Rende, the Marquise Caracciolo of Castellaneta and others.   Fights for freedom At the time of the Neapolitan risings, the village rallied to the cause planting the tree of freedom in the square and suffered the consequences. Many patriots were murdered and the village plundered and burnt in retaliation. An age-old contentious between the last liege, De Marinis, and the inhabitants, concluded in 1810 in favour of the squire, caused discomfort to the local residents for 30 years, putting their lives in peril.     Camillo D’Errico like Federico II In 1861 Camillo D’Errico was elected Mayor and held the office for 35 years, dealing with very important works for the development of the area. D’Errico loved the arts and knowledge and with the passing of time he created the biggest private art collection in the south of Italy, with 298 paintings of the XVII and XVIII cent., 500 printings of the same period and 8.000 books from his library. In his will he established that the library and the art gallery were to be offered to the village, but today the important art collection is in Matera and Palazzo S.Gervasio is reclaiming it.