Day 8, Sept 5: Back on the bus for us. We followed the coast south for awhile before turning inland. Huge, steep, forested hills changed to drier, flatter land as we drove through neverending fields of agticultural production: wheat, nectarines, tomatoes, artichokes, cherries, almonds, olives, grapes. Could still see the Adriatic in the distance very occasionally as we made our way to Bari on the Ionic Sea. At a rest stop, we had ginseng coffee. Delicioso!! There are many crumbling farm houses, abandoned in the 50s following land reform. The government took over lands previously held by the aristocracy, and the small farmers who used to live and work there couldn't afford to buy their house and a bit of land. Shortly we arrived at today's main event-- Alberobelo, site of trulli houses, which resemble round stone fairy houses with stone roofs shaped like cones. This is now a UNESCO world heritage site. The houses were widely used from the 1500s when Spain controlled the region. Very interesting. We enjoyed a marvelous wine and appetizer lunch with a local sommelier featuring products of the region, then shopping before getting back on the bus and driving to Matera. We're staying in the old part of the city. Dinner tonight was in one of the Sassi caves. More on the Sassi tomorrow! Day 9, Sept 6: We took a walking tour of old Matera this morning. Our local guide explained some symbols and architecture found here. It is the second longest continuously inhabited city in the world. The oldest is Aleppo, Syria. The Sassi have been here since prehistoric times. They settled in an area with steep hills containing lots of limestone and naturally occurring caves. They used negative architecture, meaning they carved out places to live rather than constructing them. To me, they resembled pueblas in that the homes were stacked vertically. The Sassi were able to dig down to underground streams for water, and they dug out cisterns. Livestock lived in the sometimes multi room cave with the family that owned them. This protected the livestock from theft or running away, as well as providing heat in winter, but contributed to disease and humidity in the cave. The infant mortality rate was up tp 48%. Hard life. The area has been under the control of various entities over the ages, and we saw Baroque, Norman, prehistoric, Spanish, and Middle Age architecture all in this one city. In the 1950s the government forced the cave dwellers to relocate for their health (and to avoid embarrassment, a cynic might say), but it did not go well. Removing people from their homes and social network by edict usually doesn't. Today, there are caves in use as restaurants and shops. Also, those Sassi who had caves that were in better condition and able to be rehabilitated/improved were allowed to keep their homes, but the cost made that fairly rare. A group of us had lunch overlooking the Sassi dwellings.
We spent the afternoon exploring Matera on our own, then met for wine and dinner with more fellow travelers. We ate at a rooftop restaurant and enjoyed the fine company.