Pulling out
Pulling out of Altamura our Fiat 500 was filled with the smell of fresh bread still working its magic sitting in the sun on the back seat. Looking forward to a brisk jaunt of twisting scenic country road to our next destination, Matera, I was sadly disappointed with a new boringly straight stretch of highway.
Altamura to Matera
The drive from Altamura to Matera took all of 20 minutes but this didn’t look like the Unesco heritage site that everyone had raved about!?
This looked like an Italian version of Scranton Pennsylvania circa 1972. Lights, traffic, mini-malls, signs, people, more traffic. It was not what I was expecting and if I’m honest our blast through Altamura with the horse meat, Padre Pepe, early baking session and nuns tits (read our post on Altamura and this won’t sound so offensive) was starting to catch up to me.
Nat remembered we had no cash and found a machine on the strip compatible with our needs. I lucked out on a parking spot, hauled out of traffic and she ran inside. I reached back with my growing hanger and pulled a hunk of bread from the loaf. I could hardly wait to find something to put on it but for now, it was perfect. Ready to head out again, we paused and took a deep breath before stopping traffic backing out of our parking spot.
Heading to the Sassi
“We are heading to the Sassi,” Nat said “follow the signs”
Picking off our next turn perfectly, the streets seemed to narrow until we were down to a crawl leaning forward reading signs and looking for our next extremely sharp and blind turn.
Waved through the intersection we hit cobblestone and started to descend rapidly. Little did we know passing through that intersection had also sent us back in time hundreds and thousands of years. Around the next corner, I was hard on the brakes coming to a full stop, both of us expelling a gasp at what laid in front of us.
Unesco heritage
We are now in the region of Basilicata in the Unesco heritage site of Matera. Like most ancient Italian cities there is a modern section built around the “Centro”. In the case of Matera, the old town is called the Sassi di Matera. An astounding complex of cave dwellings carved into a deep valley, Matera dates back to when man learned to use tools and was conquered by Romans in the third century BC, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth.
In 1952 the Italian government evacuated most of Matera due to poor living conditions as the caves had been overwhelmed with the poor, garbage and disease. Eventually, rehabilitation and restoration were inevitable and today with the drive of tourism Matera is on its way back to its former glory.
Locanda di San Martino
Our hotel, Locanda di San Martino was at the very bottom of the Sassi and indeed built and carved right into the hillside. With no room to park, we had to drive back out of the Sassi after checking in and park on the street in the newer part of town.
We were ready to explore and the sun broke out to motivate us to climb the thousands of stairs winding and weaving through the ancient city.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Bruna e di Sant’Eustachio
Sitting at the top and looking out over the entire Sassi is the cathedral of Matera, aka Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Bruna e di Sant’Eustachio, which we were in no rush to get to, having seen so many amazing churches on this visit. Standing outside and taking in the view from the church square we decided we better stick our heads inside and take a peek.
The exterior is quite mundane to many churches you may encounter but never judge a book by its cover as they say because what was hiding behind the doors was mind-blowing.
The church had just undergone a complete restoration including the artwork and looked like the day they would have opened its doors. The gold gilding gleamed from the sun beaming through the magnificent stained glass window
onto the massive altar.
The paintings’ colours where so vivid and lush, ancient works of art look like they were just finished days before. The showstopper though would be the amazing ceiling fresco that left me with a crook neck taking in all its detail.
Rock Churches and San Pietro Caveoso
Matera has a number of “rock churches” that are carved into the tufa.
Santa Maria de Idris
The Church of San Pietro Caveoso sitting on the edge of a ravine is also worth walking through for its frescoes and interesting construction. But the best views are outside and from the hill beside the church.
Every turn in the Sassi held a photo opportunity either looking out across the valley to the still visible ancient caves and the raging river far below or the manic construction of the Sassi itself consuming every inch of the hillside.
Carved staircases into the rock led us along the edge of the valley into areas yet to be restored and provided more panoramic views of this one of a kind city.
The day had come to an end and we were exhausted from exploring and looking forward to dinner. We chose a beautiful restaurant, Osteria Pico located at the bottom of the Sassi. It dropped down in a series of caves into the mountain.
Cuisine in this region of Italy changes like in all of Italy. Pasta here is commonly made without eggs and Parmigiano or Pecorino may be replaced by savoury breadcrumbs (made from that yummy Altamura bread). Sauces become a little more reliant on vegetables and are lighter, although we did enjoy a lovely plate of tagliatelle with local wild boar ragu.
Cruschi peppers are a real treat you will find on every table here either as an antipasto or integrated into a dish. Cruschi peppers are a particular type of red pepper grown here that are dried in the sun and then fried until super crispy. They are completely addictive and we didn’t leave without a couple of bags in our suitcase.
The olive oil of the region is also some of the best in Italy with olive trees reaching hundreds of years old under the dry hot sun. Lacking the riches of the North the cuisine relies on an even simpler approach letting exemplary ingredients do the work, some of the best meals we have enjoyed.
As for the wine, we indulged in only the reds of the region and really enjoyed the Matera Moro a Cab/Merlot blend with a small percentage of Primitivo. If you want to try something more intense the Primitivo varietal, which has to have 90% of that grape variety, is dark, tannic and powerful pairing well with strong game or bolder dishes like wild boar ragu.
Walking out of the restaurant a light rain was falling and the street lights and glow from peoples’ homes lit the Sassi in spectacular fashion playing off the wet streets and architecture. We withdrew for the night into our cozy cave and plugged in our cameras to recharge.
If the weather cooperates a night time photo shoot will be in order to try and capture this gem of a city sparkling in the dark.
Wow! Sassi di Matera looks like a place where I would love to visit. The history and cuisine look amazing. Especially those desserts!
I wonder if we were there at the same time? We loved the food and Primitivo wine–and of course the cave churches. I’m glad to see Matera is a European Capital of Culture in 2019.
We may well have been there at the same time 🙂 Happy you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Thank you for sharing. It’s very interesting
Such an awesome itinerary, Tim and Nat! Your pictures left me speechless and inspired me to add Sassi di Matera to my bucket list. How many days would you recommend staying there?
Depending on what you’re into (eating, hiking etc…), we would suggest 2 to 3 nights.