Day 10: Matera

We climb up to the town, go to the garage to collect our car and set out for Aliano on our Carlo Levi pilgrimage.

We are big fans of Carlo Levi, the author of “Christ Stopped at Eboli”, an astute and moving sociological profile of this very rural community. It was written when he was exiled to remote southern Italy by Mussolini for anti- fascist activity. Levi was a doctor and also a well-known painter and we had bought one of his watercolors when we were last in Matera. We visited Aliano seven years ago and today we are making a return visit.

As we are driving out of Matera, we get stuck in a traffic jam which is caused by a large student demonstration, complete with banners and torches. We later learn that it is part of a nationwide protest against Berlusconi’s new education proposals.

Aliano is more than hour from Matera and the scenery is a mixed bag….some of the time, we drive through forested mountains, other times through dry and dusty river valleys. The approach to Aliano is quite dramatic however…..the road twists up from the valley floor and the views over the eroded sides of the neighboring hills are startling. Similar to “le crete” in Tuscany, the gashes in the deforested, sandy hills are called “i calanchi”.

Aliano is a village of about 1,200 people and, at first glance, doesn’t seem to have changed at all since our previous visit. However, we do remember that when we entered the village seven years ago, we passed an old woman dressed in black leading a mule loaded down with wood. Today, we see only small trucks and tractors. The old men still congregate in the main square and not too much seems to be going on. But, as we drive through town we see a new park with a bust of Levi

and the new “pinacoteca” (art gallery) devoted to Levi’s life and work. The house where he lived during his 9 months in Aliano has been fixed up and is now open for visitors. The pizza restaurant across from his house has even been renamed “Amici (friends) di Levi” Pizzeria.

Our first stop is the “pinacoteca” where we take a look at the collection of documents and pictures related to Levi’s life–both before, during and after his time in Aliano. There is also a small collection of Levi’s paintings and drawings on display. After we have seen the exhibits, we are escorted down to the “casa confina”–the house where Levi lived in Aliano. In the basement, a museum devoted to the farm culture of the area has been set up and we get an overview of how an Aliano farmer lived and worked. The second floor living quarters have been restored but at this time, the rooms are unfurnished. Before we leave the house, we go upstairs to the roof terrace where Levi did much of his painting.

The last stop on our visit is the cemetery where Carlo Levi chose to be buried…even though he lived here for less than a year and had a full life as a writer, painter and politician in Rome. At the cemetery, we run into a group of German tourists who are also visiting Aliano. The gravesite has been dressed up with two new brick walls flanking the marker and there are flowers as well as a number of small stones that have been left by visitors.

We leave Aliano around noon and decide to drive down to the coast to visit the museum at the archaelogical site Heraclea in modern-day Policoro. This was an important settlement in Magna Grecia along the Ionian Sea. We want to stop for a picnic enroute but have a hard time finding a suitable spot until we make a detour to the town of Valsinni and find a bench located in a pretty park under an imposing castle where we enjoy our bread, cheese and salumi.

As we drive down to the coast, we see fields of trees laden with oranges but we are disappointed not to find a single stand selling any of them.

The museum at Policoro is a very pleasant surprise. The rooms are well laid out, the displays are imaginative and informative and the holdings quite impressive. There are reconstructions of the settlements and clear explanations of the life and work of the people of the area. We are particularly struck by some of the jewelry on display, especially where they have mannequins modelling the jewelry as it would have been worn.

Our visit to the beach area in Policoro and neighboring Metaponto is disappointing however. Since it is off-season and mid-week, the towns are deserted and the whole area appears rundown and uninviting….there was not even a gelato stand open. It would certainly be different in the middle of the summer.

The ride back up to Matera is much pleasanter, through an attractive rural landscape. I take a quick walk around Matera before dinner and we decide to stay down in the “sassi” to eat. Nadi is only a few meters away from the hotel…at 8:15 there is only one other table occupied although more customers do show up later. But we have a very good meal…..Diana has a local pasta dish with garlic, anchovies and bread crumbs followed by a delicious plate of roast lamb with very good roast potatoes. I stay with Basilicata sausage–orecchiette with sausage and mushrooms and grilled sausages. We are able to drink a half liter of local white followed by another half liter of red. Diana tries the panna cotta which is pretty good.

Tomorrow we will stay in Matera and explore the town.