Craco is a ghost town and comune in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata.

The town was built on a very steep summit for defensive reasons, giving it a striking appearance and distinguishing it from the surrounding land.

The centre, built on the highest side of the town, faces a ridge which runs steeply to the southwest, where newer buildings exist.

The town's name can be dated to 1060 AD, when the land was the possession of Arnaldo, Archbishop of Tricarico, who called the area Graculum, which means in Latin "little plowed field".

Under Frederick II, Craco was an important military center and the Castle Tower hosted the Lombard prisoners who fought against the Holy Roman Emperor.

The republican revolution was repressed by the army of Holy Faith few months later and Craco returned under the Bourbon monarchy.

Bands of brigands, supported by the Bourbon government in exile, attacked Craco on 18 July 1807, plundering and killing the pro-French notables.