Thursday April 20, 2023
Today Carol and I plan to hike through the Parco Regionale Della Murgia Materena. The park encompasses the Gravina, a gorge with a river running through it and a foot bridge over the river. Daves Foot is bothering him so they will not be joining us. We head to where the trail leaves the Sassi area of Matera and discover there is a gate there and it is locked. Above the gate are two portable barriers with space between them. We see a few people on the other side so figure there must be another way down. We walk along following the edge of the gorge for another mile or so without seeing another way down. The road goes in and around a church and then we are walking along in the more modern part of Matera trying to stay as close to the ravine as possible. We see a grocery store and not knowing how much extra time the hike will take when we find a way down, we go in and buy some Foccacia and Tarellis, Carols new favorite snack food. They are a cross between a pretzel and crostini with different flavors. Leaving the store we continue walking and see a sign with the parks name on it pointing right so we turn onto another street. We come to the edge of town and a bike path that curves down and think maybe there is a way into the gorge below us. We get to a spot where we can see the gorge, a road on the other side but do not see a path down and it looks like if we follow the road, it could become a marathon walk. We decide to abandon our plans and return to town. We have already walked 2.5 miles and are a bit disappointed as we were looking forward to this hike.
On the way back, we stop at the Church of Sant Agostino. It is a former baroque monastery with stone elements. The best part is outside where we get a nice view of the ravine, the Sassi Barisano, and the Duomo. I look at the map and we are not too far from the cave church of San Pietro Barisano, the third and final church on the church ticket we bought yesterday. It is a short walk and we go in. San Pietro Barisano is the largest Rupestrian Church in Matera . Its Romanesque style exterior hides an inside that is completely dug into the cliff side. There are a few frescoes but unfortunately, most of the decorations and altar items were stolen in the 1960s and 1970s. The most interesting part of the church was the crypt below it. Priests or aspiring priests that died were placed in seats that were carved out of the rock where their corpses slowly drained all liquids. They were not removed until decomposition was complete. This was the first phase of a double burial. After decomposition, confreres and relatives would clean and remove any remaining perishable fragments in order to preserve the bones permanently so they could be placed in ossuaries. Perishable parts were considered corruptible while bones were not therefore this method protected the immortal soul. Very interesting and creepy place.
When we leave the church, we stroll around checking out a few places for dinner and then return to our place for lunch on our patio as it is a beautiful day. We ask Dave a Gwen to join us but they got a late start on their exploring so decline. We enjoy the sunny patio with warm foccacia, fresh ricotta cheese, olives and a glass of wine. It is very relaxing and we hang in our place for several hours.
We head out in late afternoon, check out the Duomo which was built in 1270 and is beautiful both inside and out. Afterwards, we just wander around the beautiful Sassi Area. Gwen texts Carol and invites us to have a glass of wine so we head over to their place. I am starting to figure out how to get around the town and we soon arrive. We stroll for a while and then stop to have a glass of wine. They check out one place and they had wine bottles in the 100s of euros, little out of our league, so we go across the street to a little bar with 5 euro glasses. They bring the wine and put a bowl of dried red peppers on the table. At first, we are not sure if they are decoration or not until I break a small piece off to see how spicy they are. Not spicy at all, so I try a bigger piece and discover they are very tasty, like a pepper potato chip. Before we know it, we have finished off the bowl of strange but good dried peppers. While sitting, I get some nice pictures of a very colorful bird, I think is in the swallow family. He stays perched nearby for quite a while preening his feathers. It is almost time for dinner so we do a slow walk to the restaurant we have chosen for tonight.
Ristorante Nadi hides a very nice interior and the waiter is very thorough in making sure he knows what we ordered as his English is pretty much non existent. Carol and I share an antipasto with cheese and meats. Carol gets a pasta with eggplant and I get pasta with a cream of pumpkin sauce. They are both wonderful. We are also served the local Pane di Matera Bread. It has been produced here for over a thousand years and utilizes ancient grains grown in the region, yeast and local water. We saw a loaf at a bakery which is way bigger than my head. I know, pretty large. The bread is formed with a slow and cool ferment that was only possible with the consistently cool temperatures of cave living. The same method is used today with more controlled means. This bread is only available in Matera due to strict rules and the recipe and fermentation process are all protected by law. We had bought some of it sliced in the grocery store and had it toasted for breakfast this morning. It is very good. Our evening ends with a walk and climb to the Duomo and our place. When we get to the top of the steps by the Doumo, we are jokingly swearing at the steps. A guy at the top hears us and says it is worth it, as the view from here is amazing. We know this and he speaks English asking where we are from. This turns into a 30 minute conversation with Jeff who moved to Italy in 1987 and previously had lived in upstate New York. He said he came back right before covid and has been living in Matera for the last 6 months. He gives us tips for food to try in the different towns we are going to, he lived in one or two of them prior to this. When it is time to leave, he heads in the same direction as us, and it turns out he lives directly across the small alley where our patio and house is. On the way, he even says did you have towels hanging in the patio before. What a small world and interesting coincidence to meet a neighbor. Bouna Notte. Expenses Foccaccia and Tarelli at Grocery Store 4.50E 2 glasses Wine at Lerose Nicola 10E Dinner and wine at Ristorante Nadi 57E La Dimora Di Cesare 78.70E Walked 12.6 Miles
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