
Our second daytrip from Alberobello in the Puglia region of Italy took us to the town of Matera in the adjoining Basilicata region. While Puglia lies in the heel of Italy’s “boot,” Basilicata lies more inland with its much shorter waterfront in the arch or instep of the boot. Matera exceeded expectations and I found myself excited to be there from my first expansive view of the city. I love travel, am eternally curious, and truly enjoy 90+ percent of my travels wholeheartedly. (There’s always some measure of aggravation and things going wrong in any activity.) But, it’s just a fact that after so much travel over so many years, it does get a little harder to impress. It’s not that I’m jaded, at least I hope not, but I do sometimes envy those experiencing the magical firsts of seeing somewhere new and entirely unfamiliar. I felt the touch of that thrill in Matera.