It is going to be difficult translating the beauty of Matera into words. It was another place recommended to us and we were totally gobsmacked by its charm and character around every corner while walking through the maze like streets and lane ways. 
Matera is a city on a rocky outcrop which includes the Sassi areas that are basin like complexes of cave dwellings carved into the mountainside.
It also has a very interesting history having been evacuated in the early fifties due to the slum like, poor living conditions. It wasn’t until the eighties that Artesians started moving back into the Sassi setting up workshops which in turn created a demand for bars, restaurants and boutique hotels to open. The Unesco designation in the nineties and the filming of The Passion of the Christ were some of the things that initially kicked off its tourism industry but it wasn’t until 2014 when the city was awarded the European capital of culture for 2019 (which Valletta was awarded for 2018) that things really started to take off. Having said that, we found that it was very quiet and wasn’t overrun with tourists despite their major festival of the year being staged there that week. The local tourism office is very conscious of what is happening in Florence and Venice where the ‘airbnb’ thing is the subject of controversy, being criticised for driving the locals out due to high rental prices, so are determined to avoid that happening in Matera.
Linda booked a Hotel near the centre of town for a week to include the festivities of the Della Bruna festa which has taken place in Matera for over 600 years. This extraordinary festival in honour of Patron Saint, Maria Santissima della Bruna includes a succession of bands playing in rotundas set up in the piazzas all weekend culminating with a procession of costumed horsemen and a float carrying the statue of della Bruna on the Monday. It seemed that every man, woman and child from the city and surrounding areas lined the streets with excitement while the local television station covered the event with a live transmission! We could not believe how we landed in this city coincidentally in time to be treated to the spectacular activities, surprisingly, with reasonable accommodation costs and friendly, proud hosts.
Even the plentiful restaurants that served traditional local dishes were reasonably priced.
It was the Friday evening, after leaving a restaurant carved into the rock at the bottom of the Sassi (that we frequented on more than one occasion) that we heard music filtering down the otherwise quietness of the Sassi basin, so we curiously climbed the stairs to the main piazza. As we climbed, the music became louder and clearer. We recognised the music as being ‘Ave Maria’. Now, I do not consider myself as a religious or musical person but the music was mesmerising and when we reached the top we were confronted by the enormous crowd enjoying the elaborate light show to the thundering sound of Ave Maria- I actually welled up a little! It was absolutely amazing.
Each of the days we stayed there we would walk and climb the stairs of both Sassis visiting the churches, some carved into the rock and some, conventional structures. A typical cave dwelling had been resurected and furnished as they were when inhabited prior to the fifties. Chickens were kept under the bed, horses and donkeys in the corner and children sleeping on their parent’s bed, with their dogs, to keep warm!
The Monday of the procession arrived and we took position with the thousands of locals that look forward to this one day of the year. The float I mentioned earlier, had commenced its construction almost twelve months earlier. It was made of light timber framework, chicken wire and papier-mâché and carried the statue of della Bruna borrowed from the main church. As the procession, led by the costumed horsemen and carriages carrying dignitaries culminated at the church, and the statue was carefully removed from the float, the frenzied crowd of mainly young men then broke through the circle of security guards and violently destroyed the float while everyone scrambled to collect a piece of the wreckage to souvenir as they believed it brings them good luck! An amazing spectacle! We had miraculously found an outdoor table to enjoy a drink and watch the crowd disperse, many with bits of broken float in hand, including a young lad who asked us to look after his piece of broken wood (we presumed) while he went into the cafe. “Yeah, no worries mate, I’ll look after it for you”, I said. With that, he rolled his eyes, picked up his piece of wood and ran off down the road! Obviously didn’t trust me!
As we were packing our car preparing to leave, a soccer ball bounced past us which came from what we presumed to be a school behind a high fence. It took me three attempts but I finally managed to kick it back over the fence. A short time later, Linda noticed a guy accompanied by three boys walk around the corner. “That will be a teacher looking for the ball”, Linda said. Don’t know how she knew that but that was exactly the situation. I began explaining to them that I had kicked the ball back over the fence by demonstrating my kicking style and using my slow clear pronunciation in the hope of being understood. “Thank you very much”, the man replied while one of the boys ‘high fived me’. Turned out their English was very good and I was left feeling a little silly but we had a bit of a chat and the teacher was very interested in our travels recommending other places we should visit.
That was Matera, if I have done well enough describing this outstanding destination for you to want to visit, please do so. But don’t tell too many people about it, let’s keep it our little secret.
With the car packed, we pointed the Aygo seaside, Adriatic that is. Stay tuned for ‘Baletta’
Caio