My travels: Day 26, Matera, Italy

A view over Sassi

The Piazza lit up for the festival

So, where and what is Matera?
First of all, everyone likes to stay up late I discovered last night. On the 2nd of July there was a local festival celebrated, bugger I missed it by 2 days. Anyway, the Piazza is beautifully lit up at night as part of the celebrations. And the locals being out late? It is actually a cultural thing I read somewhere (and had noticed last night as well) that locals go for a stroll in the evening to meet and mingle. They take the kids in prams, the dog and great aunt Teresa in her wheelchair! And all this right below my balcony. Buy hey, if you can't beat then then join them so I had a shower, put on a frock and joined the crowd. There was even an opera singer with an orchestra, so a lovely evening being entertained.
So, what is Matera all about? The old part of town consists of the 'Sassi' (rocks) which are houses or rather caves that were dug out of the rock of the hills. The Sassi originates from a pre-historic cave-dwellers settlement and are suspected to be among the first human settlements in Italy, with evidence that people were living here as early as the year 7000 (yes, 7 thousand) BC.

You can see how it's in dug out of the hill, this
one now developed and renovated into a residence

In the 1950's the Italian government forcefully relocated the residents of the Sassi to other developing parts of Matera, due to the living conditions being very primitive in the Sassi. Occupants lived in the same 'caves' as their donkeys, chickens and pigs and the area was riddled with malaria.
Some people have moved back to the Sassi though and the area has really developed with cafes and hotels.
It is an awe inspiring place to visit, it is crazy to think people have lived here all those years ago.
The day was hot, extremely so, and I did almost 3 hours of visiting the town this morning, and will have another walk around tonight when it cools down a bit.
I really find that between 1.00 and 5.00 things shut down here, the Piazza is quiet, shops shut and everything wakes up again after that time. I'm in for another late night I think, but not complaining.
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