Matera: City of Intrigue

Because I haven't been travelling enough, it was obviously time for another field trip: this time to Puglia (or "Apulia," as I found out is the English translation). Puglia is the region of Italy in the heel of the boot, and has a very different landscape/history/everything to Umbria. The boys have both had the opportunity to go to Puglia on school trips, but I had not yet seen the sights.

Organized by the "Associazione Pro Todi," there were 48 participants who met in the bus at 5:30 on a rather chilly morning. The weather was projected to be warm, with a little rain. It wasn't. It turned out to be cold and quite rainy for the majority of the time, so that's the general background of the trip: damp and chilly.

Nothing daunted, we set off for Matera. Matera is not actually in Puglia, but it is on the way to Puglia and made a great way-point. Considered a national disgrace in the 1950s, it is today a national treasure and well on its way to being a world heritage site, if it's not already so classified. The town is built in a horseshoe around the rim of a canyon, and descends into the (steep) bowl. But what makes this situation unique is that the structures that appear to be houses are actually caves carved into the rock! Facades were added later to make the homes appear more architectural(?) or to provide additional protection from the elements (?), but in function and form they remain holes carved into the rock. These caves were inhabited until the 1950s, and Matera had a terrible reputation for being a collection of dirty, uneducated, nasty people who lived like animals. It was to the point that those who actually came from there would be very vague in their descriptions about their hometown rather than admitting that they were from Matera.

As a result, public housing was constructed on the outside of town, the troglodytes were rehoused (and they did mostly go voluntarily and happily, because of indoor plumbing!), and the caves were largely abandoned and ignored. Something interesting happened, though, in the early 1990s, I think: Matera was rediscovered as a largely intact town maintaining very old characteristics. Mel Gibson decided to use it as a movie set for The Passion (cheaper, easier, and safer than filming in the Middle East, while easily keeping the flavor), as one example of a movie filmed here. In 2019, Matera is a named city for "the Year of Culture" which is a program I know little about; it's something along the lines of a European city with particular interest is chosen and then has a yearlong cultural festival with concerts, art exhibitions, and more. It's a big deal, in other words.

During our visit, I was absolutely fascinated by the interlayering of alleyways and houses. We had the chance to see inside one of the caves (vacated in 1952), where the entire family (and its animals) lived in one room. There was no indoor plumbing or electricity. Babies slept with the parents, while older children slept in the crib, the drawers, and more. Chicks typically huddled under the (high) bed, and the horses were tethered near the large bed. A smallish table served the family (often 10 family members), and one large platter was used as the communal eating dish.

Another part of our tour was the church roof: a continuous slab of stone, the upper part had been carved in numerous places to create burial spots. The bones had since been removed, but the graves remained and were clearly visible. Looking across the valley, one could see other caves that had not had a facade applied. Several were churches and can be visited, but are rather difficult to reach (we didn't have time during our visit, but I would love to go back and hike around the area).

One of the churches I visited during our free time was a beautiful, simple Medieval style with unexpected capitals on the columns: bunches of large pine cones? something organic, but I don't quite remember. One of them was a really frightening dragon! The vaulting arrangement was very defined and seemed vaguely Norman somehow. So beautiful! When we were with the guide, he sent us into the Duomo, where we were assaulted by a riot of Baroque interior design: not a single surface left unadorned in the richest possible style. Lovely in small doses, this was overwhelming and in stunning contrast to the living accommodations.

Main Piazza

The main piazza

You can see part of the gorge in the background

But the town just sweeps around!

This church is roaringly Baroque; an interesting contrast

Close-up of the two churches

Left: caves with facades to look like houses. Right: caves without any additional adornment.

The rock roof of a church, with carved-out graves; there are caves visible across the gorge

The gutters are held up by cow bones!

The gardens were a surprise!

We are all the same in death, no matter what position we held in life

This church was charmingly simple inside

Most of the buildings here are caves.

This is a very shallow town: it goes back maybe 30 meters in total, but looks like 100!

These were residences and churches, visible across the gorge

The block facade is just overlaid on top of the natural rock face.

You can just see some caves in the background

This was just on the outskirts of the downtown area; I loved the Eastern influences!

As I went through the town, I couldn't help but see the kids having a grand time exploring this charming and unexpected place. A return visit is definitely in order!

Love, 

Alexandra