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| We are not Sassi |
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| View from our balcony |
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| Hotel courtyard where we mingled |
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| Ancient Matera hillside (view from our hotel balcony)
Last Thursday we took a regional train from Lecce to Bari, changed trains in Bari, then took another train to Matera and taxied to our hotel. On the train from Bari I was fortunate to sit next to a gentleman, Carlo, who happens to live in Turin, Italy, near where my grandparents originated from, and we engaged in a lively conversation for the duration of the trip. His English language skills were fairly good since he'd worked in some sort of liaison capacity between Italy and the US regarding the now extinct Arthur Anderson accounting firm (Coincidentally, I worked on the Enron/Arthur Anderson litigation when I was a paralegal). Carlo explained that he is currently retired but taught economics in Turin. He later mentioned that his family is very well known in Italy (and joked about his "humble" nature) -- he was quite funny. One of his relatives founded the liberal Turin newspaper, La Stampa, and served as ambassador to Germany during World War II.
But more famous is Carlos' relative, the La Stampa founder's son, the late Pier Giorgio Frassati, canonized by Pope Paul II in 1990, sainted for his work with youth, the poor, and his social activism. Pier Giorgio is revered throughout Italy, according to Chiara, our "landlady,"who was astounded to learn that we'd conversed with a relative of the Pier Giorgio. You meet the most interesting people on trains.
Matera is now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site: "This is the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem. The first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history."
Known as the "town of the Sassi," Matera was once covered in forests and vegetation, and an adequate supply of water was channeled through deep carved stone ditches into cisterns. An abundance of natural caves provided shelter, and as the community grew, the extremely soft limestone could easily be carved out into additional structures.
Over the centuries urbanization was disrupted by invasions from the Byzantines, Longobards, Normans, Arabs, Slavs and Aragonese. After the fall of the Roman empire, the vacated population began to return and build new structures on top of existing buildings. Rock-hewn churches emerge out of hillsides decorated with Byzantine frescoes and exotic decorations. It is impossible to describe the awesome timeless beauty of such a place. In the nearby town of Altamura, human skeletal remains have been dated at 250,000 years old.
According to WIKI: The Sassi are houses dug into the calcarenitic rock itself. Many of these dwellings are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often run on top of other houses. The ancient town grew up on one slope of the ravine created by a river that is now a small stream. "
In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city. Riddled with malaria, the unhealthy living conditions were considered an affront to the new Italian Republic of Alcide De Gasperi. However, people continued to live in the Sassi, and according to the English Fodor's guide: Matera is the only place in the world where people can boast to be still living in the same houses of their ancestors of 9,000 years ago.
Until the late 1980s this was considered an area of poverty, since many of these houses were, and in some cases still are, uninhabitable. Current local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and it has promoted the regeneration of the Sassi with the aid of the European Union, the government, UNESCO, and Hollywood. Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs, and hotels there, as described in a May 2015 New Yorker magazine article.
Photo Left: Our guide said that this opening in the cave had indentures for "curtain rod." Curtains helped block the breezes, he said. I wondered about the other large openings adjacent. ..
Photo Below: Walking up and down the many steep and winding roads can be challenging - Doug bravely managed despite a swelling knee and foot pain. We headed up to the lovely interconnected levels of the historic commercial piazzos and found a local gelateria to revive us. We knew that Caryl's day would be incomplete without a testing of the flavors--and the rest of us were willing to go along :-).
We found the international presence in Matera -- shopkeepers, craftsmen, restaurant owners and travelers to be delightful. It is an exceptionally friendly city.
  
We ducked into a cafe to avoid a sudden downpour and enjoy some local treats -- and marveled at the fine interior design. The whimsical lighting fixtures complemented large intricately incised metal wall panels, chairs and other furnishings. Everyone agreed that Matera is worth another visit.
For an in depth history: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/27/a-cave-with-a-view
 Ciao for now! |
