june-2012

A ROCK AND A SOFT PLACE
Once the ‘national shame’ of Italy, the Sassi di Matera today offer the very
fi nest in cave living. Step back in time and channel your inner caveman
I
Sassi di Matera, or the
Stones of Matera, are
among the oldest human
settlements in Italy. Today
people still live in exactly the
same spaces as their ancestors
did 9,000 years ago, in caves that
have been extended into houses
by using stones excavated from
the same mountain on which
they stand, one dwelling built on
top of the next. Only 70km from
Bari airport, Matera is a lush
green hill town in Basilicata, a
region that lies in the arch
between Italy’s heel and toe. You
can hire a car or take a bus to get
there, but we opted for the scenic
route – a 1.5-hour train journey
from Bari’s central station – on
the trenino (‘little train’) as the
locals call it; given its gentle
speed and diminutive size they
feel treno would simply be an
exaggeration. Passing fi elds and
fi elds of olive trees, interspersed
with gigantic cacti and bright
red poppies, it comes as no
surprise that olive oil is the main
export of this region.
Arriving in Matera, we felt
adventurous and took off on foot
rather than in a taxi to fi nd our
hotel. From the city centre, the
famous stone houses were
nowhere to be seen; we later
learned that the new town had
deliberately been built to hide
this once-run-down quarter.
However, when we stumbled
upon an entrance to the Sassi
leading down some stairs into a
maze of windy paths, with
Blick auf Sasso Barisano
Sasso Barisano in Matera’s old town
stoney cave houses cascading
down the hillside towards a
riverbed, we were enchanted.
With views of the green, rocky
Alta Murgia national park on the
horizon and warm, sandy stones
piled on top of each other on all
sides, you can see why Matera
has so often served as a fi lm
setting for ancient cities such as
Jerusalem. It features in movie
maestro Pier Paolo Pasolini’s
1964 The Gospel According to St
Matthew and Mel Gibson’s 2004
The Passion of the Christ.
After wandering around,
soaking up the atmosphere of
this tranquil village we had to
admit we were utterly lost and
had no idea where to fi nd our
hotel. Luckily, a man sitting in
his stonemasonry – essentially a
cave with an iron door – caught
my eye, so I asked him for
directions. Next thing we knew
he had locked up his shop and
accompanied us on a trip
through the Sassi, up and down
the narrow cobbled streets and
across tiny piazzas, where we
met many friendly locals, none
of whom had ever heard of Le
Grotte della Civita hotel. What
we did learn was how much
Matera had changed over the
years. Mimo (short for
Massimo), our stonemason
friend, said when he grew up
here one couldn’t navigate the
streets like this: ‘It looked more
like Machu Pichu, with uneven
rocks sticking out of the ground.
A lost city.’ Today, the streets are
newly paved with local stones, in
M A T E R A
keeping with the original style.
Another man (Cicho, short for
Francesco) told us his family
used to have horses and other
animals living with them in
their cave. ‘I was one of 10,’ he
said, ‘but we lived in one room. I
used to sleep in the bottom
drawer of the cabinet.’
Finally a man walking his
dog, asking what these idiots
pulling their wheelie-cases
through the ancient cobbled site
desperately clutching their
iPhones were looking for, had a
revelation. ‘Ah, do you mean the
Sextantio project?’ he exclaimed.
And indeed the Grotte hotel is
part of the Sextantio Group,
brainchild of Italian/Swedish
developer cum philanthropist
Daniele Kihlgren, who has set
GW—47