JimsSummerBlog: Day 2 in Matera

Tour of the Sassi this morning with Anna.

Here is Anna in front of the main church by our hotel along with Jody and Margie (also of our VBT group).

Anna was super informative, having grown up in Matera, and coming from a long line of Materans. Also she was an art history major but knew a lot about general history and geology too.

For example, she informed us there were 60 churches in the Sassi. Why so many? Because there were many separate communities originally, and each had its own church. Why so much development on this side of the canyon? Aspect and geology (more of the softer rock type).

Anna with a cucca, that we hear children love to play with, and that brings good luck to a household.

We also learned that the homes consisted of hewn out rock sections, usually in back or below, and constructed sections in front.

Here is a typical home from the 1950's, after which people were moved out. The government forced families to move out because the Sassi were a shame of Italy. At the time, animals lived in the Sassi with people, and poor sanitation was a huge issue. People were generally very poor. The government gave them new homes in nearby modern Matera. Later, Matera was considered so important historically that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site!

Also prominent on this tour was the church of Santa Lucia Alla Malva. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but to make a long story short, it was a church first and a residence later. There were nice, very old frescoes inside that revealed the dual influences of Greek Orthodox and standard Catholicism. Some of the frescoes dated to the mid 13th century! The church was a good example of negative architecture. In which things like arches and columns are built by removing rock rather than by constructing them.

Here are some little vignettes from our walk.