Caroline Verdel
September, clear blue sky, 28 degrees. Italy as you imagine Italy. We leave behind not only the beautiful landscape of Abruzzo, but also a week full of fun, sun, and good food. We got married in Abruzzo, and it was great. On to Basilicata.
Basilicata, a forgotten part of Italy
So with a lump in our throats, we leave our favorite spot in Italy behind to discover a new region. With the air conditioning on we drive on the highway to our next destination: Basilicata. Where is your honeymoon going? Basili-what? Oh, never heard of it.
That's right, Basilicata. The capital is just under 2.000 km from Utrecht, and there is no airport in the entire region. Tourists hardly come here, it is a forgotten part of Italy. Not even the highways will get there. Parched, tough land, always skipped. Why? We're going to find out.
From lovely to fierce
It's getting warmer, and when we stop between the grain fields to look at the map, we notice that there are some clouds in the distance, right above our final destination. The road is deserted, the yellow grain waves a little, and we get back in. On to a hamlet called Trivigno. The landscape around us slowly changes from lovely to rugged and wild, and we begin to lose sight of the sun.
A warm welcome
Trivigno is located a few kilometers below Potenza, the capital of Basilicata. We drive through mountainous landscape, the southern Apennines dominate the region here. When we take the exit to Trivigno, a fairly steep road follows, and we arrive at agriturismo La Foresteria di San Leo.
We are expected, the cake is ready, and of course first a coffee before going to our apartment. Peppino and his wife Maria Giovanna are very hospitable, and we immediately feel very welcome here. The apartment is cozy and has a veranda, and a fridge where wine and more cake is waiting for us. What a welcome!
Join for dinner
The agriturismo is located high on a hill in the middle of nature, and we are impressed by the view. There is a swimming pool, which we have not been close to due to the weather this week, but it must be nice to be here on warm days. Fortunately for us, the agriturismo also has a cozy dining room, where we sit down on the day of arrival. They make the most delicious, traditional dishes here, so we immediately decided to eat here every evening and leave our kitchen for what it is.
The next morning the heavy clouds have drifted away, and we park ourselves on the veranda with coffee. We are treated to a loud 'Prego!' when Peppino shows his flock of sheep with a wide swing of arms. We see it. Peppino is proud. And we think that's absolutely right.
This first day we drive towards the south coast of Basilicata, where the land touches the Ionian Sea. On the way we pass a sign with Matera. Doubt sets in. The weather is very good, and it probably won't be as nice for the rest of the week. Viewing a city is of course the best when you can stroll in the sun. We turn around.
Matera, un-Italian city
Matera, the most un-Italian city we've ever seen. Situated on the edge of a sizable ravine, this quaint town stretches up the hill in layers. The city looks a bit oriental. Square houses of pale stone, small windows, many stairs and fluttering laundry. Matera is the city of the sassi. Dwellings carved into the rock, consisting of only one room and one door. Until quite recently, whole families lived here, complete with five children, a horse and twelve chickens. I'm not joking.
Unbelievable when you see the cave houses with your own eyes. Carlo Levi wrote a book about it in 1945, and since then attention was paid to the poor conditions in which these families lived, and they were moved to new apartments in the higher part of the city. But the sassi neighborhoods are still there and today are Matera's biggest tourist attraction.
It's quite impressive to walk around here. In addition to the many cave houses, the city also has cave churches, which you should not miss either. The city is also pleasantly busy, has shops, city guides, squares and viewpoints. Also a lot of lost alleys that end up in nothing, step by step, so you have to walk back three blocks. So the smart ones among us get a map. As far as we are concerned, this is really a highlight, not only of Basilicata, but of all of Italy!
Monday
It comes pouring down from heaven today. We go back to the coast (attempt two), but not to sunbathe. We drive to Metaponto. Here is a relatively large excavation, with some remains of Greek temples. Despite the bad weather, we must of course see this up close. Just a minute then. With umbrella. A few minutes by car away are some remains of a large temple dedicated to the goddess Hera. Beautiful to see, even with rain.
What we are used to in Italy is that shops and museums can be closed for a few hours during the afternoon, especially in the less touristy regions. What we are not used to is that the break here lasts almost all afternoon, namely until 16.30 pm to 17.00 pm. To our surprise, this also applies to a large part of the gas stations. So something to keep in mind!
Giants
When we drive back into the village of Trivigno at the end of the day, we are looking for a supermarket. Of course, such a mini-village only has a local supermarket, which is nice. We park our car with a Dutch number plate on the square of the village. And then suddenly something happens. We are a landmark.
There is some movement on the other side of the square. Some old men get up and look at us from a distance. There is some waving with arms in the air at each other, there is a discussion going on and it is clearly about us. Suddenly we notice that we are quite big. The people here are generally quite small, so we don't go unnoticed. When we are in the supermarket we feel like giants.
Every inch of the shop has been used, huge piles of toilet paper, shelves with bottles of soda one above the other, and very narrow paths in between. We, tall and with a large backpack, hardly dare to move, for fear of knocking over a pile of something. We gather some food and arrive at the cash register, where an old friendly lady starts a conversation. Where are we from? Netherlands. "Oh, then you're with Peppino!"
It therefore gets more Dutch people over the floor. The lady talks proudly about the region, and yes, we also think it is a beautiful area. Meanwhile, another elderly lady approaches, who unashamedly pulls up a chair to follow our conversation. It feels like an interview, but in a pleasant way. When I pay appropriately, a big smile comes. One more question before we leave. Whether we also have the euro in the Netherlands.
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