Matera and The Sassi - A MUST SEE!
Trip Start
Aug 04, 2009
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Trip End
Aug 18, 2009
Matera, Basilicata, Italy
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Matera,the second largest town in Basilicata is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, thanks to its extraordinary labyrinth of caves, used as dwellings as recently as the 1950s, and which are literally part of the town – under your feet, beside you, and around the next corner. Many are well preserved, and the Sassi ('stones') districts are now undergoing stylish renovations and are now host to bars, restaurants, and chic boutique hotels.
Our hotel, the 5* Palazzo Gattini, was stunning, and combined old world luxury with every modern comfort. The view from the terrace and the balconies to the ancient caves was magical and entrancing. Wandering through the Sassi, standing in a humid cave which so recently housed entire families, and gazing across the ravine to opposite cliffs where shepherds sheltered for millennia, we got a sense of how hard life was here for so many. Stepping through the courtyards, ancient wine cellars and narrow streets, however, you do also get a strong sense of the communities which survived and flourished against the odds.
Tiny churches are built into the rock face, often with just discernible faded frescoes painted onto the walls. There really is a biblical aspect to the landscape, and it comes as no surprise that the town was used as the setting for Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’. ‘Simply Perfect’, he is reported to have said when first seeing Matera, and it isn’t hard to see why.
Comments
siamo stati a Matera la scorsa estate:meravigliosa!abbiamo soggiornato al Residence San Giorgio ( www.sangiorgio.matera.it )un albergo bellissimo e suggestivo nel cuore dei "Sassi" di Matera.le camere scavate nella roccia e il recupero storico ne fanno un posto da favola.sicuramente un esperienza da ripetere.