Colobraro

Colobraro
—  Comune  —
Comune di Colobraro
Coat of arms
Colobraro Location of Colobraro in Italy
Coordinates: 40°11′N 16°26′E / 40.183°N 16.433°E / 40.183; 16.433
Country	Italy
Region	Basilicata
Province	Matera (MT)
Government
- Mayor	Andrea Bernardo
Area
- Total	65.91 km2 (25.4 sq mi)
Elevation	666 m (2,185 ft)
Population (December 2009)[1]
- Total	1,408
- Density	21.4/km2 (55.3/sq mi)
Demonym	Colobraresi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	75021
Dialing code	0835
Patron saint	St. Nicholas
Saint day	7 April
Website	Official website

Colobraro is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. The town is positioned on a high hill dominating the valley of river Sinni near the town of Valsinni.

The hamlet is known as the "village without name"^[2]: its name is considered bringer of bad luck in the towns around, where Colobraro is usually mentioned in the local dialect simply as chillu paese, cudd' puaise or chill' pais ("that village"). This notoriety, which has in recent years spread all over Italy, began during the first decades of the 20th century and seems to have been sparked by a story concerning a famous person from the town, who would have said said something like: "... if the lamp in this courtroom should fall down." Unfortunately for him and for the town's reputation, suddenly the big lamp fell to the floor, and the implication of misfortune began at that time^[3].

References

1. ^ All demographics and other statistics from the Italian statistical institute (Istat)
2. ^ "Il paese che portasfortuna"
3. ^ "Il paese della iella"