- It was a city situated on the Lucanian coast between the rivers Melfi and Lao. Some identify its location with that of present-day Policastro, others with that of Pisciotta in the Novi Valley. It is mentioned by Strabo, Pliny, and Livy. Its name was formerly also given to the Policastro promontory. Of Greek origin, it received a colony of Roman citizens in 194 and later became a municipium. Very scarce are the details about the diocese. In 501, a Bishop Rusticus took part in the Roman Council convened by Pope Symmachus; in 592, St. Gregory the Great (Ep. 42) ordered Felix, Bishop of Paestum, to visit the diocese of B., which was without a shepherd; in 649, a Bishop Sabbatius was present at the Council held in Rome by Pope Martin I.
The city was later destroyed by Saracen raids.