Matera Day 2

May 25, 2023

Matera has been on my wish list since I learned about its existence when planning this trip in 2019 so the fact that I get to explore it today feels like a privilege. Matera is the third oldest continuously populated city in the world after Jericho and Aleppo. People have lived here since Paleolithic times (10,000 BC). The history here makes it an extraordinary place to visit. I hope I can do justice in describing it to you.

When I awoke, I heard the sounds of a piano playing and children singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, in Italian. I opened the window and looked out to see that there was a Catholic school next to our apartment and today’s lesson was music. Their voices were so sweet. What a nice way to start the day.

Our apartment, just on the edge of the old city, is almost too comfortable and it's in the perfect location to explore Matera. Our hosts provided everything we could need or want for breakfast which made up for yesterday's ding-dongs. We had fig and lemon cakes, coffees, freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit, cereal and yogurt.

Matera is overwhelming at first blush. It covers 36 hectares, much larger than either of us expected. I pored over some brochures and maps at breakfast and we did some brainstorming to come up with a plan for the day: a ride to the opposite side of the Gravina to get a good look at Matera’s sassi’s, a walk to explore the Caveoso Sassi (we visited the Barisano Sassi yesterday), a visit to a couple of museums, check out a restaurant for dinner and some bicycle maintenance for David.

First up was the bike ride. We are more familiar with the traffic and the roads by now, so we zipped to the edge of town and dropped into the valley to the south where we discovered the tufa quarries.

There are two viewpoints on the south bank of the canyon and we cycled to each one. The views are spectacular, as were the flowers on the dry rocky outcrop.

Chief trip photographer standing at the precipice.

Caveoso Sassi, where there are fewer houses. Caves are still being renovated here. Many are in the original state.

Barisano Sassi, where homes were built in front of the caves. The homes are stacked one on top of the other.

View of Caveoso showing the new town above and the cliffs below,

The canyon is deep! Had to wonder how many fell to the depths over the millennia. You can just make out the Gravina river at the bottomof the canyon.

These pink flowers poked out from the wild thyme that was growing everywhere,

Euphorbia, much smaller than the varieties at home.

We returned to Matera, up the 10% hill and stashed the bikes. Then we headed west to see the Caveoso Sassi. It is fascinating to wander the small alleys and stairways, peeking into the caves and into businesses to see the various shapes of the caves. Here are some photos of places seen on our stroll.

The two sassi’s are separated by the Citiva, the old town centre. Below this area sits a water cistern that was dug in the 16th century to collect rainwater. It held an astonishing 50million liters and was accessed with buckets through several opening in the stone. It was re-discovered in 1991 after being decommissioned in the early 20th century.

Giant bread of Matera outside a pane store.

Door of the Church of Purgatory, dedicated to the souls trapped in Purgatory.

From the Citiva, we descended into the Caveoso Sassi.

One of the caves houses a museum showing how a typical family lived up to 1952, when the city was de-populated. There was a family of 11 plus a horse living in this particular cave. This reproduction is exactly as it was in 1952.

We continued our walk up and down and around the stairs, peeking into the dark caves.

On the way back to the B&B, I dropped in to see the Duomo while David went back to do some maintenance on the bikes.

We arrived at the restaurant when it opened and managed to scoop a table as long as we would finish by 9pm. It turned out to be another memorable dinner in every way. We waddled home at 9pm.

Five desserts. The chocolate cake had spicy pepper in it that you couldn’t taste for about 30 seconds. Then it popped! What a culinary treat it was.

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Today's ride: 17 km (11 miles)
Total: 333 km (207 miles)

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Keith ClassenAnne - great description and photos of Matera and surrounds! Justice well served! What a spot!
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1 year ago

Anne MathersTo Keith ClassenThanks, Keith. There is so much to discover in Marera. The more you see, the more you want to know. Have a read about the de-population in 1952 if you’re interested.
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1 year ago

Rachael AndersonGreat photos! I’m very happy for you that you got such great weather to explore Matera.
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1 year ago