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.
As for Matera, it’s not that the town with its medieval plazas and churches is so different in style from other picturesque Italian cities and towns or that it offers a particular one-of-a-kind sight or structure, but rather that the sheer size and span of it and its history makes it exciting and something different. Matera covers rocky hillsides and ravines and has a history dating back 10,000 years making it, reportedly, the third oldest city in the world after Aleppo and Jericho. Sweeping views of pale stone buildings and church spires dating back hundreds of years hide prehistoric cave dwellings, some still adorned with medieval frescoes from their time as churches. It’s a place that just begs to be explored, inviting unplanned wandering and random stops. And that’s just what we did for most of a day. At this stage of the travel game, we’re fine ignoring must-see lists and we simply basked in being in this sprawling ancient city.
After leaving the car in a convenient and modern multi-floor parking building, we walked the short distance to Piazza San Francisco guided by an engraved map just outside the parking building which laid out the closest fourteen sights, including three churches and three piazzas. Like I said, it’s not that the sights are unfamiliar in and of themselves. There’s just so much and it’s so appealing. Dotted among the historic sites are lots of shops, cafes and restaurants.
Wanting to eat lunch near one of those wonderful views, we followed narrow steps to a tiny two-table terrace outside pretty Osteria Alla Vigna. As good luck would have it, a couple was just leaving so we pounced on the vacated table. Pasta with clams and mussels for David and a local specialty legume soup for me made for a delightful lunch.
We spent the remainder of the day exploring, ducking into churches, admiring architecture and ancient structures beneath the city, doing a touch of shopping an marveling at the views. A vast ancient cistern called Palombaro Lungo was rediscovered beneath Piazza Vittorio Veneto in 1991. The cistern had a capacity of over five million liters of water and was in use until the 1930’s. The entrance fee is a modest 3 euros, but we weren’t that interested and opted not to wait for it to open after lunch. Of more interest to us was the adjacent subterranean arches of a ruined church with medieval frescoes still visible. Access is free to this space and it opens onto a terrace with views of the city with the cathedral directly opposite. [Lead photo above.]
Matera is known for its cave churches and dwellings, many of which can be seen dotting the hills around the city. Dating to the Paleolithic Age and used throughout the Middle Ages. Once abandoned, these structures were often used by shepherds to shelter their sheep or became slums in the areas known as “Sassi.” Nowadays, they’re tourist attractions, some of them serving as hotels and restaurants. We were loving staying in our Alberobello truli on this trip, but I can envision a Sassi hotel on a future trip!
Like Matera itself, Matera’s cathedral, the Cathedral of Bruna, is a cut above the norm. Built between 1230 and 1270, the cathedral (officially “Basilica Pontificia Cattedrale di Maria Santissima della Bruna e Sant’Eustachio”) has undergone many changes and modifications over the centuries. Entrance to the cathedral is through the adjacent Diocesan Museum of Matera which houses a collection religious artifacts and art. Inside the cathedral, I particularly liked the Chapel of the Nativity with its huge multi-colored stone nativity scene sculpted in 1535. Painted burial chambers destroyed and covered over in the 1400’s were excavated beneath the chapel and are now viewable beneath a transparent floor. The combination makes for a unique and intriguing space. The visit ends in the impressive nave ornately decorated in white and gold with a painted ceiling and pink-columned presbytery at the far end.
We capped off our day of rambling through Matera with an Aperol spritz at an outdoor table on the cathedral plaza. Perfetto!
Practical info:
The drive from Alberobello to Matera took us a little over an hour over good roads. Earlier parts of the drive were through pretty Puglia olive groves. Later was less scenic with a remote concrete plant, raised pipes and some commercial trucks. Still, that stretch was an easy drive and gave way to cave dwellings as we approached Matera.
The parking building we parked at was Parcheggio park scotellaro, easily found on Google Maps. It was only €1.50/hour and was in an excellent location, just a one-minute walk from Chiesa Convento di San Francesco d’Assisi in the historic center, and a great place to begin a ramble through Matera.