Basilicata, also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia (Puglia) to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short south-western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the north-west and Calabria in the south-west, and a longer one to the south-east on the Gulf of Taranto on the Ionian Sea between Calabria in the south-west and Apulia in the north-east.
The region can be thought of as the “instep” of Italy, with Calabria functioning as the “toe” and Apulia the “heel”. The region covers about 10,000 km² and in 2010 had a population slightly under 600,000.
The regional capital is Potenza. The region is divided into two provinces: Potenza and Matera.