Il Chiostro delle Cererie Matera

... inside the two or three room caves that served as their homes. The sanitary conditions were abysmal, and the infant mortality rate exceeded 50%. <br><br>Then, in the late 1950s, the government of Italy got involved and began to move (sometimes by force) all residents out of the Sassi and into new government apartments built in a &#8220;new&#8221; section of town. By 1963, the Sassi was deserted and had become a true ghost town. Then, in the 1980s, the government ...

... 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. <br><br>Tiny ...

This is where Pietro, an old Italian guy, jumped into Bruce and navigated us to the trulli. He saved us from a traffic jam in the narrow streets of Puglia.<br><br>Pete was also called Pietro while in Italy. :-)<br><br>Trullo comes from the Greek word, "tholos" &#8211; meaning &#8220;dome&#8221;. See the pictures of the wee houses.<br><br>We found the Belvedere pub here too - also the name of our local in Aus &#8211; meaning &#8220;beautiful view&#8221;. It was beautiful.

... train station in the country and they could give you any information about any train in the country. We showed up to a small town train station and they had to call 2 different numbers to find out what the price was for the train and also to find out that in fact bikes are not allowed on the smaller regional trains. We would have to bike the desert and mountains in order to arrive in Potenza a train from which we could take a State train.

... much so that heaps of films have been made there, King David with Richard Gere and Mel Gibson´s The Passion of the Christ amongst them. <br><br>We arrived late afternoon and looked down on the valley of houses from the main square, and in the distance saw a campervan on the edge of a cliff the other side of the valley, a km or so away. Now wouldn´t that be a cool spot to spend the night, wake up with a cup of ...

... who is the sister of my grandfather). Gianluca's mother prepared delicious meals both days we visited and I ate so much I could hardly walk. Gianluca's grandmother looks exactly like my grandfather and she has a fantastic sense of humour. It was quite overwhelming to meet one of my grandfather's siblings and family in Italy and speak in Italian with them! Anyway, it was a great weekend, and I hope to go back there again before I leave! The ...

I decided to remain in Matera for an extra day. The old city, boasting a heritage of nearly 10,000 years is clearly majestic in its effect on the first time visitor. Not too touristy (yet), the city gives out the real feeling of what living in a small, secluded, cliff hanging cave town would be like. One can easily imagine this by looking up towards the still vacant stone houses and caves or looking down at the creak and the rocky hills surrounding it ...

... where the two pharmacists, once again, proved to be extremely kind and helpful. Armed with a dictionary and query Italian, I tried to remember the words for "rash" and "crouch". In the end I settled for a few jesters and finger pointings. "where? where? - oh, down there.. OK..", the pharmacist finally said, heading towards the baby ointments section. The whole process took 5 long minutes; the line behind me grew, yet the ...

Short ride yet breathtaking. Via Appia is magnificent! An ancient roman road which is situated comfortably on the mountains above the highway is also amerced in natural forest and meadows, dotted here and there by small town houses, grazing sheep, pigs or hens. There is barely any traffic on the road - definite a bikers heaven. The mountain peaks reach a hight of more than 1000 m.

... as it's after 10 by now. Back to the Spirito Divino we go, and watch some northern Argentinian folkloric dancing by 2 young couples, then they come back half an hour later and do a set of tangos (they're hoping to open up a tango school here), and finally we go home about 3am, walking through the Sassi. <br>Next morning I'm up early, say goodbye to everybody (Dad sheds a little tear), and take my zia Ciccina back with me to Sicily (all the time quietly suggesting that I slow down).