This is a picture of Matera, the first town we visit. We took this in 2007 when we visited. The town is ancient and is essentially a cave city. The houses hang from the side of the mountain. Carlo Levy wrote about Matera in his book, "Christ Stopped at Eboli." Levy was exiled to this region (Basilicata) by Mussolini. The title evokes the utter desolation of the area during WWII. Entire families lived in Matera's dwellings, called Sassi. In the '50's, the government moved the people to a new city on the top of the hill. Gradually, people moved back in and gentrified the sassi. We will stay in a very nice hotel that has made rooms out of the caves. Still, Southern Italy in general and Basilicata, in particular, are very poor compared to Northern Italy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment