Day 24 Matera
The breakfast lady recognised us this morning and it felt
nice. Orange juice, cappuccino and croissants got us ready for the day. The market
stall had finally disappeared. We watched as waves of tourists made their way
down the hill, towards the historic heart.
We were soon strolling down the road towards Sassi Caveoso. In the morning light we could see more of the dwellings that had been carved into the rock walls on the other side of the valley. We followed the dropping path that wound its way between the houses until we reached a massive eruption of rock. Tht was our destination. A narrow path clung to the side of the mountain, giving us some excellent views down the valley and the little scribble of a river that over the centuries had carved its way into a valley and then a ravine. Perched up on the top of the rocky outcrop was a cave church topped with a wild looking spiked cross. With some slow, careful footwork I was able to make it up to the level at the foot of the church.
We took a meandering path back down the hill for a short distance. Johnny wanted to drop down so he could walk the Tibetan rope bridge over the river. One look at the steepness of the hills told me that it was beyond my knees so I stayed at the top and took a wander down the road to some shade. I found a restaurant with an astonishing view down the valley and ordered a cold coke with a slice of lemon. An hour later, a red-faced, sweaty and very tired Johnny re-emerged from the track. The sun and the steepness of the walk had taken its toll. We briefly rested in the shade cast by the mountain before setting off further up the hill to the Matera Cathedral..
With it being Monday and a work day, the area was nowhere
near as crowded as it had been on Sunday. We entered the cathedral through the
museum that housed all manner of precious church equipment. There were ancient,
illuminated manuscripts and liturgical scores. The walls were lined with
frescoes and paintings of scenes from the bible. We then moved through a
gallery lined with paintings of the local cardinals, before entering the cathedral
proper. Sections of the floor had been excavated to reveal, beneath glass, the
passages and rooms beneath the church. The
church itself was a thing of wonder. Though it was essentially constructed on a
Romanesque plan, it had been added to over the years. The rich and elaborate baroque
style say the walls decorated in high relief and gold gilt was everywhere. How the
church could spend so much on a church when the people lived almost like animals
in caves, is hard to understand.
We worked our way back to the main streets of Matera and
found near the main piazza a great restaurant. John got a massive mortadella and
cheese sandwich as big as a plate. I had an octopus salad. Lovely food! We pushed
on walking up to a nearby hill that appeared to house a castle surrounded by a
park. This was not as appealing as we expected it to be. The castle was
basically built as a showpiece by a rich local person and was incomplete and
closed to the public. Sore feet and the lure of more of that impossibly
wonderful ice cream we’d tried yesterday, saw us making our way back to the
main street. The main streets of Materia were filled with groups of students. It
looked like a range of different schools were all visiting the town on the same
day. They certainly added colour and excitement to the place.
Then it was back to our accommodation for a rest.
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