Perched high above the instep of the Boot in the eastern extreme of the region of Basilica is a city unlike any other in Italy. What makes Matera unique and marks it as a Southern Italian “must see” are its historic, or rather prehistoric, quarters: the sassi. Literally meaning “the rocks,” Matera’s sassi offer the best example of troglodyte (cave-dwelling) existence anywhere in the Mediterranean. People have inhabited these caves since Paleolithic times (as early as 15,000 B.C.), making Matera one of the world’s oldest continuously settled cities, older than Petra or Byblos.
Matera’s sassi give the impression of a city that’s crumbling, and as little as 50 years ago that impression was accurate. Following WW II and Carlo Levi’s shocking exposé Christ Stopped in Eboli, Matera was considered “the shame of Italy” and residents were forcibly evacuated. Then, in the 80’s, a younger generation, fascinated by the cave dwellings, began inspired restorations and people started moving back in. Artisans set up workshops and galleries while bars, restaurants and boutique hotels sprang up. The UNESCO designation in 1993 and, later, the filming of Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ helped put Matera on the map, but tourism only really picked up five years ago when Matera won its bid to become the European Capitol of Culture 2019.
You know tastes have come full circle when travelers clamor to live like troglodytes … at least for a few days!
A special thanks to Frank Yantorno for this stunning slideshow. Frank lives outside of Bolzano and is a spectacular photographer, fine artist and guide with Ciclismo Classico.
Napoli, full of complexities and contradictions, defies classification and doesn’t enjoy the bucket list reputation of so many Italian cities. Often treated as a pass-through en route to the Amalfi Coast, Naples is seldom explored and its many beguiling layers are overlooked by most travelers. If you do have the time to visit, you won’t be indifferent: you’ll either love it or feel just the opposite. There is no “in between.” You’re either drawn to its paradox of love, loss, sex, religion, superstition, birth and death or you may want to run away from it. For me, I love it. I felt its magnetism immediately — the good, the bad, and even the “brutti” … the ugly.
Besides being officially recognized by the EU as the home of pizza (pizza having been recently designated by UNESCO as a cultural treasure), Naples has a rich history and many spectacular Baroque churches. Not always as spiffy as other cities, it offers a veritable feast for the urban photographer. It’s sacred and profane. It’s both Old World and kitsch; camp and hip; seductive and bewildering. It’s chaotic and random; gritty, edgy and operatic. And somehow also pious, and even at times … serene. Napoli throbs with life, exuberance and color.
Venice’s pre-Lenten merry-making has inspired many a pithy axiom. For centuries Carnevale sumptuously celebrated the pleasures of the “flesh” both literally and figuratively, with its seductive devil-may-care ambiance. The word carnevale is derived from the Latin noun for “meat” (carnem) and the verb for “remove” (levare). A long ago church edict declared that whoever ate meat during the forty days of Lent could not receive communion on Easter, which was a big deal back in the day (also a clever way to ration meat which could be in short supply during the winter months).
Over the years the celebration of Carnevale expanded and expanded … with its festivities beginning with the Epiphany in January (when the Three Kings visited Jesus) to la settimana grassa (the fat week) leading up to Ash Wednesday. By the end of the Venetian Republic (the late 1700’s) Carnevale lasted, believe it or not, for nearly half the year (!) with merry revelers donning costumes and elaborate maschere (masks) and doing whatever (!) with whomever (!). Each year around this time, you can experience a joyous re-enactment of the original grand old party (about a 10-day affair) … and also partake in a dizzying photographic feast without equal! (All the photographs featured in this post are courtesy of Anita Sanseverino who has been taking dazzling photos of La Bella Italia for decades.)
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