Ever since our move further south in Italy I have been looking forward to exploring the Southern regions of Italy. I have only been as far south as the Amalfi Coast and now I’m ready to explore further. The perfect opportunity came when a friend invited Jeff to give a talk and to stay with him in Calabria.
So I plotted a route to Calabria, which is the “toe and instep” of the boot that is a Italy. It will be a six hour drive so we decided to make a few stops along the way to break up the drive and see this part of the country. Honestly, there was so much more I wanted to see but time would not allow it this time. I would have first stopped to see the Gargano National Park and stayed at Baia delle Zagare hotel to see the beautiful water and kayak in the caves. I would have visited Poligiano al Mar to see the beautiful beaches and town, Ostuni, the white city and its beautiful beaches. But I guess there will always have to be next time…
Our first stop is Matera in the region of Basilicata, an ancient city about four hours from us. Matera is known as the Città Sotterranea, or the subterranean city because the inhabitants used the existing caves to carve out homes with rooms and facade for houses. Matera is the third oldest city in the world, Aleppo in Syria takes first place and Jericho in West Bank of Israel takes second. It has also been compared to Petra in Jordan, which a also a “cave city” that has had a facade carved in the stone.
Matera is a city of prehistoric troglodytic, or cave dwellings, here you can wander down streets and homes cut out entirely from rock. Numerous Biblical films been filmed here because it looks so much like biblical Middle East. The most famous film being Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ.” While we were visiting Matera, I met a local named Gigi, who road his motorcycle to the opposite side of the ravine to have views looking back at the city. He told us he was very happy that we were visiting his city and told us how he was an extra in filming the movie, he pointed out where they set up the scene of Christ dying and how he was one of the ones that shouted for his death. As we looked out over the dry hot terrain we could see how this would be a perfect place to film the movie.
On the populated side of the ravine, where the Sassi (cave neighborhoods are, we saw buildings built up and down the hillside, houses piled on top of each other, the roofs of some acting as streets for those above, forming a labyrinth of homes. So much so that it is impossible to tell where one house starts and one house ends. They were carved out of the rock and the original caves with facades that look like normal homes.
During the 1950s, Matera was called “The shame for Italy”, a place of poverty, malaria and infant mortality of 44%. It was a place where people lived in caves without electricity, running water or sewage. Carlo Levi’s book Christ Stopped at Eboli raised awareness of the desperate conditions people were living in. This resulted in the government moving out about half of the 30,000 population to new homes in the modern part of the city between 1953 and 1968.
But that dark picture of the recent past does not give an accurate picture of the thousands of years that have past for the people living in these caves. We started our visit to Matera at Casa Noho, a beautifully restored cave dwelling that is owned and operated by the FAI, an organization for preserving the national treasures of Italy. I recommend that anyone visiting Matera start their visit here so they can learn the true story of the Sassi (cave neighborhoods).
We learned that even though the caves may have been lived in by very early humans, the church carvings and facades may have been started by monks who fled Turkish occupation in the south of Italy in the 1000’s. They were able to carve churches for themselves in the soft limestone that resembled the churches they had to flee from during Muslim occupation. They painted biblical scenes on the walls that mirrored the artwork found in other areas from the time.
Later, shepard’s with their flocks took refuge in these caves near the banks of the river. When the first inhabitants came across these caves they would have found instant housing for their livestock next to fertile land and a excellent water source. During the centuries that followed, these caves were used largely for this purpose and were not lived in. However during the 1600 and 1700 hundreds the city of Matera began to flourish and nobles and peasants alike began to live in the cave dwellings. At this time they carved beautiful rooms and facades and lived comfortably with each other. That is when Matera took on the current beauty that we see today in the developed Sassi neighborhood. It became a labyrinth of homes with intricate carved facades that looked like a normal Italian “Borgo” or neighborhood.
During this time, the ruling party required that each household put out one light each in the front of the houses to distinguish each dwelling. The affect was the beautiful “skyline” that is visible today. It was during this period that Matera hit its peak of prosperity.
In the 18th century the Catholic Church started to exert its power and money and the people began moving out of the Sassi and up to the “new” town above. They wanted to be with the nobility and build large palaces to see and be seen. This caused the Sassi to be evacuated and abandoned. Later the facades and furnishing were stripped from the Sassi and used elsewhere. The Sassi lay desolate for centuries. In the 19th century farmers and shepard’s started to move back into the caves as temporary housing during the cold winter months.
Eventually poverty caused the people to move into the Sassi and create lives for themselves. This lead to the conditions that Carlo Levi found when he visited in 1945 and wrote his famous book “Christ stopped at Eboli”. The title of the book means that the people here felt like Christianity didn’t reach as far south as Matera, they were forgotten and forsaken. The truth is, the conditions Carlo Levi found in the Sassi in Matera were the same deprivations and poverty found in all of post war Italy, especially in the south.
I remember talking to a friend who was sent to Italy as a missionary after WWII. She said the living conditions were terrible and some missionaries died of food and water related illnesses. This is not something we think of when we think of Italy, but it was the reality in 1945 and the years that followed. One day I was talking to an elderly man in my home town of Itri who said he remembered being a boy during the post war years. He said they were so hungry their stomachs were not in the front but in their back. He still remembered with a haunted weak smile the American solders giving them sweets to eat.
This matches up with my own history, the Italians who left Italy following WWI, including my grandfather, did not leave because they no longer loved Italy, but because conditions were so rife. So the Sassi in Matera were no different but Carlo Levi’s book cast a spot light on the poor living conditions and the government had no choice but to act and evacuate the people to better housing.
So when the families were removed from their cave dwellings and moved into housing their children had little desire to go back. One man recently was encouraged by his grown son to return to the cave dwellings in Matera to visit his home. Although had only lived a few miles away in the newer part of town he had never wanted to return. But at his sons encouragement he returned for a visit and pointed out the cave dwelling that had been his home prior to the evacuation in the 1950’s. He was visibly moved as he talked about his home and the water well where he would retrieve water for the family. He still remembered falling and skinning his knee, he said he still retains the scar. But after a brief visit he was ready to leave, he said he did not want to remember the three brothers he lost due to poor living conditions and high child mortality rate.
Slowly in the 1970’s artists and poets started to move into the cave dwellings, drawn in by the deep history and unique lifestyle. In 1993 Matera was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site for being “the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte (cave dweller) settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem.” Soon after that, the first cave hotels opened and now over 3000 residents have moved back into this historic neighborhood from the newer city above. Matera was declared the Cultural City of the year 2019, so now you can stay in a five star hotel complete with a spa and pool cut from the limestone. Fancy restaurants, chic wine bars and boutiques now line the streets and occupy the once condemned caves.
While we were walking the labyrinth of winding streets, Jeff said with dismay, “Why have I never heard of this Place?” Indeed, it is something amazing and unique to see. I think it is also being newly discovered by Italians also, everyone is stunned by Matera’s rich history, unique cave dwellings and beauty.
My suggestion for visiting Matera is to stay one night in a cave dwelling so you can see the Sassi at night when it is all lit up with the light in front of each dwelling. Wander the narrow streets and bask in the warm glow of the lights. But you get the real show if you cross the ravine to the other side, the “natural side” and look back at the cave city. Sunset and dusk would be the perfect time. You can walk across one of the foot bridges or drive your car to the other side.
A picnic would be nice to enjoy as you sit on the natural side of the embankment of the river, watching the sunset as it casts its warm golden light on the “cave city”. Bring a blanket to sit on and local bread from Altamura, the local cheese from Pulgia: Cacioricotta that is shaped like a teardrop with a top knot and local Primitivo wine. I love that each region of Italy has their own specialties that you can’t find again once you leave the region. You don’t have to go to a fancy shop to buy the specialty items, just swing by your local Conad grocery store and select your wine, cheese and bread and you are “picnic ready”! You will watch the sky turn from orange to deep blue as the lights start to turn on in the city below. A million lights that twinkle like fireflies will appear below you as you capture the real essence of Matera .
If you can get up before dawn you would also be rewarded with the sunrising on the opposite side of the ravine. This would also be a beautiful show as the morning light would light up the city.
I hope you enjoyed our visit to Matera and are possibly able to plan your own visit soon, next we leave the Basilicata region and head to the Pulgia region to visit the conical houses of Alberobello!
More Articles About Traveling & Living in Italy:
House Hunters International in Italy (Published April 24, 2019)
A Californian Surfing in Italy (Published May 1, 2019)
Our New Town in Italy (Published June 17, 2019
Life Lessons from the Secret Garden (Published June 21, 2019)
Homemade Pizza in a “Wood-fired” Pizza Oven (Published July 5, 2019)
Summer Guests (Published August 3, 2019)
Wild Boar, Cows on the Loose and Rabbit Stew (Published August 2019)
