Last Day in Matera

So we have an exciting plan for this morning, to find hiking trail 406 which drops down from the town to the bottom of the gorge (La Gravina), across the river, then up the steep opposing side to the plateau which affords spectacular views back to Matera. Except the steps which mark the start of trail 406 are barricaded, and on asking around, we discover that the route has been permanently closed since a rockfall left it too dangerous. There is no alternative crossing. Ah well. We need a Plan B.

And Plan B turns out to be brilliant. Over the course of the day we walk more than 13 miles around the city, soaking up its stunning views and its incredible history. We visit churches and cave churches, cave houses, the castle remains, and the museum, as well as the amazing Matera Sotterranea, or underground city, home to an incredible cistern complex. There is so much to learn here.

The cave houses of the sassi have been restored to show us just how the people lived; houses hewn by hand tools in to the rock, often on two levels linked by hand chiselled stairwells, packed with home fashioned furniture, looms to make clothing, wood stoves for cooking. 

Here’s some shocking realities. These families averaged six children per household; the infant mortality rate was over 50%. That’s around thirteen pregnancies per woman. Babes slept in cots; toddlers slept in drawers. Chickens lived beneath the marital bed. A mule, and often even a pig, lived in the same room as the family. There was no sanitation. Can you even imagine the smell? This is not medieval history we’re discussing here: this was the 1950s and in the cases of the last to leave, the 1960s, living like this. It’s a real eye opener. 

The occasional snowfalls around here were seen as a gift from God; the deepest cellars of the cave houses were cold enough to store snow, in layers separated by straw, to be sold as ice in the summer months. All of this, and more, is still visible, and brought alive by the terrific and informative museums and restored houses.

The ornate man made churches are terrific; the rupestrian cave churches quaint and atmospheric. Our walk today also takes in part of the new city, nowadays housing the descendants of the evacuated families, while, with some irony, the old town profits from its history of poverty as its bars and restaurants satisfy the curious tourist. It’s a strange world, isn’t it. 

Extend this thought to the food here. The restaurants in Via Bruno Buozzi are good and authentic, and they tick our boxes for that reason. But isn’t it seriously ironic that these peasant recipes, all based on the most basic principles of what is available at little or no cost, is now sought after, and valued and enjoyed, by visitors like us, contentedly paying 25 euros per head to eat the self same food. It’s a strange world, isn’t it. 

The large underground cistern beneath the main square was an ingenious feat of engineering, providing the populace with much needed water during the dry summer months. After falling into disuse, the cistern lay untouched until the 1990s, when archaeologists found and reopened the entrance to find it still completely filled with fresh water, 500 years on. An engineering feat indeed.

And so our time in Matera is done, as we move on tomorrow, back into Puglia.