Aliano is a town and comune in the province of Matera and is located about 90 kilometers from Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.

Aliano is probably most famous for being the inspiration for the fictional town of Gagliano in Carlo Levi's book Christ Stopped at Eboli (Italian: Cristo si è fermato a Eboli). Published in 1945, it gives giving an account of his exile from 1935-1936 in Aliano.

Like many towns in rural Italy it has suffered from migration to the cities and overseas where employment opportunities are better.

Aliano is located atop "calanchi", which are deforested, sandy soiled, rocky hills. Over the town's history, many homes were lost to landslide resulting from deforestation. In 1980 an earthquake shook the region destroyed or made uninhabitable many of the town's historic homes. Recent funding, partly from the European Union, has made renovations possible, and parts of the town's historic center are once again inhabitable.

Aliano has its own dialect, "Alianese", and the population keep many old traditions. One particular example is that, during Carnevale (a catholic festival that takes place a few weeks before Easter) village men, dressed in paper mache masks, hats covered with streamers, wearing long underwear and cow bells, march down the town's main street, throwing flour at gathered crowds and making grunting noises.

John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz. He organized at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.

As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane, and their son Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist. Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history. He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as Saint John William Coltrane. In 2007, Coltrane was awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."

The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crimefighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town" with psychic powers. One of the most famous pulp heroes of the 20th century, The Shadow has been featured in comic books, comic strips, television, video games, and at least five motion pictures. The radio drama is well-remembered for those episodes voiced by Orson Welles.

Introduced as a mysterious radio narrator by David Chrisman, William Sweets and Harry Engman Charlot for Street and Smith Publications, The Shadow was fully developed and transformed into a pop culture icon by pulp writer Walter B. Gibson.

The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the Street and Smith radio program Detective Story Hour. After gaining popularity among the show's listeners, the narrator became the star of The Shadow Magazine on April 1, 1931, a pulp series created and primarily written by the prolific Gibson.

Joseph Michael "Joey" Richter (born July 31, 1989) is an American actor, singer, and internet personality. Richter co-starred as Ron Weasley in the fan-parody musicals, A Very Potter Musical (2009) and A Very Potter Sequel (2010), created by University of Michigan theatre group, StarKid Productions. He starred in leading roles in two other StarKid productions: as a fictionalized version of himself in the musical Me and My Dick (2009) and as Bug in Starship (2011). Richter graduated from the University of Michigan in 2011. Richter also performed on the Space Tour along with some of his fellow Starkids.

In addition to StarKid projects, Richter starred in a YouTube web series, alongside fellow StarKid Joe Walker, called Tasty Tests promoting Red Vines, as well as starring in an independent film titled Camp Chapel. Richter recently announced that he will be appearing in the animated film Khumba and beginning a recurring role on the Disney Channel show Jessie, beginning in the episode titled "Badfellas," premiering April 27, 2012. It was originally only a guest stint, but became a recurring role, because Richter is too totally awesome not to.