The Bucolic Charms of Puglia - Italy - page 539

A Day Trip to Matera
One of the most intriguing places you can visit on a trip to Puglia is
Matera

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, which is actually in the neighboring region of Basilicata.
It's only a few kilometers over the border and definitely should be included
in a Puglian vacation. The haunting ruins, called the sassi (www.sassiweb.it;
follow the numerous road signs to find them), are one of Italy's saddest
post-World War II stories. Around 20,000 peasants lived in this village,
which was literally carved out of two sides of a ravine. The houses were
cavelike, windowless structures that often held an entire family and its
animals. Malaria was rampant and poverty killed many of the children.
Most famously, Carlo Levi wrote about his sister's visit here in his book
Christ Stopped at Eboli, in which he related her description of children with
“wizened faces of old men” reduced to skeletal frames from starvation,
heads crawling with lice. It was this description that prompted the Italian
government to finally pour money into the poorest areas of Italy's south
to eradicate malaria. In 1960, the city built a new town above and moved
the remaining 15,000 residents out of their squalor.
Today when you visit the site, the cityscape is eerie and completely,
utterly shocking, even though some of the old sassi have now been
reclaimed by artists and wine bars are being rebuilt into funky houses. Mel
Gibson filmed the crucifixion scene of The Passion of the Christ here, with
very little change to the backdrop. To tour the area, start with a couple of
the six rock churches built into the caves. The local tourist authority
offers an integrated ticket for € 6 for entrance to all six churches (or € 5
for three churches, € 2.50 for one church). There is also a guided tour
available, priced according to the number in the group, but it will never
cost more than € 15, including entrance to all six churches.
You should plan to spend a half-day or more in Matera if you really
want to grasp what this city is all about. There is a lot to explore—don't
cut your time too short, but it's not an easy, or great, place to spend the
night, so make it an early-morning day trip and get back to your base by
nightfall.

SALENTO PENINSULA
From Lecce, you can easily explore the entire Salento region, including the island
town of Taranto, which has superb Greek excavations from the villages that made
up the colonies of greater Greece (magna graecia). These are well displayed at
the Museo Archeologico di Taranto ( Archaeological Museum of Taranto; two
entrances: Via Corso Umberto I, 41, Palazzo Pantaleo, and Via Corso V. Emanuele;
% 099-4532112; € 8, free for students under 18 and for seniors over 60; Mon-Sat
9am-2pm, Sun 9am-1:30pm). Taranto is an industrial town whose many factories
and port are marked by unpleasant odors. It's nice enough to walk around here,