We began walking with a local guide who is licensed by the state. Our tour leader told us that she has been unable to qualify because the exam hadn’t been offered since COVID. Bureaucracy is everywhere.
The area of Matera, specifically the Sassi district, is at least 35,000 years old based on archaeological finds. The caves which were used as dwellings have dates back about 10,000 years. In fact there were cave dwellers living without water, sanitation or electricity into the 1960s. The government took over after being forced to see the primitive conditions. They erected modern living spaces with access to water, electricity and sanitation as well as technology to bring the primitive dwellers closer to the present day world. Apparently, the people lived in the modern places during the day, then returned to their caves at night where they had a very strong sense of community.
As we walked out of to a different part of town than we had seen before, we were able to view some deserted dwellings as well as some cliff caves across a gorge from town. We learned that the river gorge had been a good source of water during early times. It still held a stream that ran through the area.
We climbed down a succession of steps that led us down to a cave house that had been preserved as a museum. People lived in the caves using disintegrating animal dung for heat. Apparently the inhabitants spent much of their time outside. The children were given an infusion of poppy seeds if some sort to keep them sleeping when there wasn’t much food.
We also saw a cave church that had been used during the 11th-15th centuries and then deserted and then used for living. The frescoes were somewhat preserved. The many holes in the walls were used to hang items off sticks or to set up looms for weaving.
By noon, it began to rain. We made our way to our restaurant lunch spot. As we emerged from lunch, there was a brief downpour. The rain and old stone street make for tricky footing. Patricia and I waited for the downpour to end since we knew the way back.
We dried off a bit and had an afternoon outing to the church of purgatory and a museum. It was a good rainy day activity. We will be leaving early tomorrow morning for our trip to Lecce.
We ate dinner in a wonderful restaurant that was one of the few places open on a Sunday evening. We had the best eggplant parmigiana ever!! Off to sleep now.
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The Adventures of Anne 