Matera. This old city is easily the most unique I’ve
ever experienced.
We walked with an
experienced local guide today to learn more starting with the caves where
people lived until the mid-1950s. The
abysmal conditions are heartbreaking to consider – no water, plumbing or sewer
system. No electricity. Not unusual to have ten or more people living
in one room. With the family mule,
chickens and pigs. It was called “The National Shame”; those of us who have
read “Cristo si è fermato ad Eboli” will certainly recognize the story. But to see the cave dwellings first hand is
beyond description. The last of the
citizens were relocated out of the caves in 1953 into housing in the main town.
It
is literally carved into rock. Houses, churches, shops all carved from the soft
tufo stone left behind when the sea receded. You can still see tiny holes where
mollusks were buried in the seabed. There are hundreds of stairs up and down,
winding through streets and passageways forming two distinct neighborhoods
called “sassi”. The edge of the town drops off into a massive ravine on two
sides (la gravina). The old part of town has limited traffic, so it is easy to
imagine what it must have been like in ancient times. There is a stark and ferocious beauty of the
scenery.