Matera is an ancient city of cave dwellings (as well as modern apartments and homes), the third oldest human settlement in the world (after Aleppo and Jericho), in the region of Basilicata (previously known as Lucania), on a hilltop surrounded by wheat fields, olive groves and a deep ravine. Its other claims to fame are: the 2019 European Center of Culture; movie location of latest James Bond flick, Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ, remake of Ben Hur, Wonder Woman, and apparently the sequel to Passion of the Christ; the only city in Italy that was “condemned” in 1952 and its citizenry relocated to a newly constructed Matera due to the poverty and squalor causing shame to be shed on the Italian government; and being the most gawd awful place to maneuver by foot or by vehicle because of its labyrinth-like network of stairs and hills. Forget using a map (paper or GPS/Google varieties) – even if you could get a good phone signal, it is utterly impossible to not get lost at least once or to stumble up/down the uneven steps. The Sassi (rocks in Italian) are man-made caves dug into the sidewalls of the ravine, dating back eight centuries before Christ, but human remains have been found as far back as the Paleolithic period. The lower classes, the peasants, lived in these dank dark and humid hovels, often sharing the living space with horse, chicken or donkey. Infant mortality rate was greater than 50% and average life expectancy was late 30s. The nobles and landowners lived above on the flat top of the cliffs. Since the 1980s, the abandoned caves have been reclaimed and renovated into tourist accommodations, shops and restaurants.
We took a two hour walking tour, saw a reconstructed former cave home, and walked on top of a cave church, stepping on the tombs.
We also learned about the famous Matera bread baked on wood burning ovens and marked with the stamp of the family who brought the loaf to be baked in the communal oven. These wood stamps can still be personalized and make s unique souvenir.
After a brief 90 minute break, we re-assembled to board taxis to transfer to the big bus (with the first female Italian busdriver I’ve ever seen) that was to take us to Gravina in Puglia, located about 20 miles away but in the adjacent region of Puglia.
Gravina is a small version of Matera. Birthplace of Pope Benedict XIII, of the noble Orsini family, this town dates from the 9th century BC. Built at different levels, it is like a lasagna, with the oldest remnants of homes and churches on the lowest levels. Unlike the sandstone of Matera, this town’s buildings are made of a very soft limestone. Cave dwellings are also found, with the last inhabitants moving out in the 11th century. Dinosaur tracks can even be seen in the rock floors.
And just like Matera, we climbed up and down stairs, some of which are featured in the latest Bond movie. The different levels were nicely demonstrated when we invited ourselves in a man’s wine cellar and cheese aging room!
Besides the cathedral, the other famous site is the Roman aqueduct (now covered by a bridge built by the Orsini family).
After crossing the bridge, we met our bus and picked up some pugliese focaccia in Altamura and headed back to Matera. We were pretty exhausted from the walking and the uneven steps. We were determined to have dinner at the closest available restaurant, which happened to be down only 103 steps. It was quite an upscale restaurant and we tried sweetbreads, scallops with carbonized vegetable (looked like a burnt centipede!), grilled lamb chop, spaghetti with sea urchin and a baccalà entree.
We finished dinner with the local amaro (Lucano)- really potent stuff!
Camino Musings 