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Matera: Not on many Americans’ itinerary, but should be!
Salerno is the place we rented our first car in Italy. Our train from Naples arrived before the car was ready, so we explored the Piazza and found a coffee spot to sit and enjoy the bustling about of shoppers and city workers installing the now ubiquitous Christmas lights. It’s quite nice and easy to get around. Walking the Piazza that is. Driving is quite another experience. Harrowing is the word..maybe death defying But Tom finds his inner Italian and knifes his way into the city traffic and soon we’re experiencing highway driving in Italy.
After a long drive to Matera, we are surprised how big it is: 60,000 residents; but the old city is much smaller. We make our way down steep cobblestone streets to our hotel, Caveoso. Our room is huge and clearly a cave. I hadn’t realized that a cave room might have humidity issues and possibly even smell musty. We put our bags down then take off to explore and find dinner.
And everything is closed. Italians take siesta seriously. I like that except that it’s almost 5pm, I’m hungry, and most restaurants don’t open for dinner until 7:30. Even the grocery store is closed, but at least it opens at 5. We’ll be sure to bring along some snacks for our next travel day. We find a restaurant that opens early and have a nice dinner. Upon return to our room we discover the humidifier has leaked water across the floor, even soaked one of my packing cubes (at least it was the dirty clothes cube). We were moved to a new room, and it was much nicer.
The next day is pouring, Oregon Coast style. We decide it’s the perfect for a laundry day. Lemonade again. I brandish the €4 umbrella from Sorrento. We load pretty much everything we own into plastic bags and hoof it to the parking lot about half a mile away, up steep and wet cobblestones.
Side Note: most of the ancient towns have restrictions against driving in walled cities, parking outside the walls is required. Then you need to pack your luggage in to the hotel, if you’re staying inside the city walls. Carry-on-only for the win.
The self service laundromat instructions are in Italian only. We try to decipher and immediately lose a €10 bill to the machine, which we thought was a change machine. Lucky for us, a kind couple were willing to help. It was a challenge since he spoke very little English and she spoke none at all (compared to our brilliant Italian). With a few gestures and a few iTranslate efforts, we knew we needed laundry soap and which machines to use. They also called the owner to refund our €10.
Another Side Note: in our experience the more rural your destination, the less likely you will encounter English speaking locals, even the younger people hardly speak English.
We reward ourselves with a lunch at the modest restaurant nearby. Tom gets a hamburger and I get a salad. That burger was so delicious! I hadn’t realized how much I missed ketchup & mayonnaise!
After all our clean clothes are put away and we’ve finally warmed up, the smell of slightly burnt pizza crust wafts by. Meanwhile, it had started snowing, which is apparently rare in Matera. With the €4 umbrella keep at least my head dry, we find the pizza place just next door. They walk us through about 50 yards of cave to our table and wood fire some excellent pizzas. A good way to finish up a wet, cold then snowy day.
Yet Another Side Note: when inclement weather arises, we always ask for extra blankets. We had 3 extras.
Thankfully, the next day is dry so we head out to explore Matera’s labyrinthine streets, steps, & alleys. We find tourist shops, but most tourists are Italian here. The sign was so faded, it was nearly invisible yet we somehow found the MUSMA. The 17th century Palazzo delle Pomarici was once owned by a family with FIVE wine cellars. Their heirs donated the site, now the only cave-museum in the world. The MUSMA houses a national collection of contemporary sculpture in ancient caves, an extraordinary juxtaposition.
After exploring MUSMA, we enjoy an aperitivo at a unique spot, pretty nearly vertical. Other customers sat outside, so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves, which was about 4 tables in the loft above the front counter. No wall space to hang their artwork, the clever owner has resorted to mounting paintings on the ceiling for an original type of display.
Our last full day in Matera is busy. First we visit the Matera Olive Oil Museum, MOOM, and Severano greets us with a sprig of olives. The 40 minute tour of a small building that milled olives centuries ago. Donkeys pulled stone wheels to grind the olives into paste; the paste is loaded into collapsible baskets that are stacked under the presses; three men muscle the presses to compress the liquid, which sits while the oil rises to be scraped off the top for the final product.
Next we drive out to the unique town of Alberobello. We walk the alleys of Trulli. In ancient times the residents were taxed for every structure they owned. The Trulli was designed so that the removal of the keystone made the structure collapse in a pile of untaxable rubble. A big price to pay for some tax avoidance! I’d definitely want to visit Alberobello again, particularly in Sept for their annual festival. There is no place quite like it. On our way back to Matera, we also drive through Polignano a Mare which has a beautiful cove. It made us think we were back in Greece.
Final Side Note: Oregonians, please don’t burn down your house to avoid property taxes.
We rise the next morning preparing for a long travel day. Three hours to drive back to Salerno, just missing a torrential downpour, but still enjoying a double rainbow most of the way in to town. Next, our first long train ride into Florence. Farewell Matera!
Hi dears! I’m so sorry I haven’t been in touch lately, but have been a little busy and overwhelmed here (will catch you up more when you get back)! We love reading about all of your adventures and you are truly having the experience of a lifetime! If we ever get back to Europe, we will use your info to make our trip even more special! When are you do back home? We’ll hope to see you and view all of the photos you have been so wonderful to post plus more! Be safe and have a great time for these last legs of your journey! Hugs! Rory and Dan
Hi dears! I’m so sorry I haven’t been in touch lately, but have been a little busy and overwhelmed here (will catch you up more when you get back)! We love reading about all of your adventures and you are truly having the experience of a lifetime! If we ever get back to Europe, we will use your info to make our trip even more special! When are you do back home? We’ll hope to see you and view all of the photos you have been so wonderful to post plus more! Be safe and have a great time for these last legs of your journey! Hugs! Rory and Dan
Love love love reading about your experiences… you both describe things so great! Miss you!!
The MOOM sounds so interesting, and I love olives and olive oil. A good friend once gave me an awesome olive oil /balsalmic vinaigrette dispenser 😉
Hope the trip is everything you and Tom hoped for!