Matera in Basilicata – with its Jerusalem-like aura

idding arewell to Rome after a short meet-up with Mark and Jenny, we drive for five hours south towards the ‘heel of the boot’ of Italy. We arrive in Basilicata without a hitch (and driver Paul without shoes!), only to be get lost in the narrow streets of the ‘Sassi’ area of Matera where we’re staying the night – in a cave.

Matera, in Basilicata, has a unique legacy that frames a remarkable setting of almost 10,000 years of continuous human occupation. Here, the history of urban ecology, from sustainability to squalor, inspired UNESCO to designate a World Heritage Site, while its old Jerusalem-like aura captured several movie directors, including Mel Gibson, who used Matera to film ‘The Passion of the Christ’.

In fading light, our first sighting of the ‘sassi’ areas built on the sides of the gorge (and where our hotel is located) is stunning.

This is the scene that stops us in our tracks as we navigated through the winding streets of the Sassi area trying to find our hotel.

Winding down into the gorge we finally find our hotel, the 18-room Albergo Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita. A porter comes to lug my luggage up the stone steps, but Paul (with one carry-on for the whole month away!) looks after his own.

We join cave dwellers from millennia before in the same caves for an overnight experience – and for a guided tour of the area to better understand the patrimony.

Our quarters in Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita, Matera - three caves deep

e sleep in a cave with a door to the light, but bathe in a candlelit third cave deeper into the limestone mountain. My bedhead is a restored and waxed thick piece of wood with holes once used to tether the cows inside with its human occupants. (Our excellent local guide Antonio worked with his father on making all the furniture for this hotel, restoring some existing pieces, and building others from old wood found in the area.)

“If you want to discover the deeper sense of a place, you have to sleep in a house of that place, not in an international hotel.” Herman Hesse – On Voyage

The dining room is cavernously large. It was once the chapel when this part of the mountain was a medieval monastery. The blessings that we receive today though are in the form of regional specialties on the breakfast buffet. We watch (dare I say salivate?) as each simple breakfast dish is produced hot from the oven. Get the picture?

This one of many 'bakes' contains only spinach and cheese if I recall - and I still savour the aroma.

atera was the ‘shame of Italy’ in the 50s. Infant mortality reached 48% and children living in the caves looked as malnourished as the kids we see in Africa today. 15,000 inhabitants from this ‘Sassi area’ were relocated into new public housing on the outskirts allowing the caves to be cleaned and renovated.

With great foresight, and in concert with tourism investor visionaries, the whole infrastructure (paving, drainage, sanitation) was improved and all works strictly conform to a heritage master plan even to this day. Pride in the city is now truly palpable.

Click on the link at the end of this post to view the photos of our guided sightseeing tour.

Michael and Paul with the Sassi area of Matera behind us. The plant on my left is capers - growing out of rocks all over the area.

Our knowledgeable guide Antonio looked after Edmundo and Naser, who followed a couple of weeks later

PHOTO ALBUM:
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CAPTIONS
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