Comments on: Matera

By: CR

CR — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:00:50 +0000

Paul Valetta- You mean San Polo Matese, in the Molise region, on the Apennine mountains. My family is from Boiano, about 2-3 miles from San Polo. Many inhabitants of San Polo are of French descent. And, did you know that San Polo is famous for some of the best bagpippers in Italy? They win many Italian and European competitions. San Polo has a long, long tradition of bagpipe players, and bagpipe makers.
I hope you read this. I just read this article, must have skipped it when it came out.

By: Cinzia Sanniti

Cinzia Sanniti — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 03:13:19 +0000

I first read about Matera in 1994, in an article from the New York Times, that simply yelled at me “you have to go there!” And why is that, you may ask. The writer had described a labyrinth of caves that had been abandoned and were now being repopulated by artists, architects, etc.
I have relatives in Naples and friends in Perugia (Umbria)and, at the time, no one had EVER HEARD of Matera…very strange. In 2000 I finally made it down to Potenza by train, but no one there at the station could tell me HOW TO GET to Matera!! And believe me I did try…only to buy a ticket back to Naples. Then in 2002 I went to Bari and from there I was able to take a train called the FAL (across the street from Bari’s main train station) and I FINALLY made it to Matera. As soon as I got off the train and proceeded to pull my suitcase to the Hotel Italia, I loved what I saw. And when I stopped to see what laid beyond the rails of “a panoramic point” (often labeled on tourist maps as “a beauty spot”), I exclaimed “I’ve found what I’ve been looking for!” After a 3 month stay, I came home to search anything and everything I could on Matera from the net. I am totally obsessed with the town and plan to retire there. I now go to stay for 6 months every other year. The best people, the best food, the best of everything. Of course, it wasn’t always like that as Stanley Crabb says in his post. Matter of fact, I have an American friend who arrived in Matera in 1988 and she says things were pretty much the same as in the early 60s. No woman drove, no woman went into a coffee bar, no woman wore slacks. Things have certainly changed for the better and I find Matera to be one of the most progressive and artistic cities I’ve ever lived in (and I’ve lived in quite a few places in Italy: Naples, Venice, Viterbo, Gaeta, Perugia…).

By: Stanley Crabb

Stanley Crabb — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:03:58 +0000

Fred, I totally agree with you: do NOT pass the opportunity to see Matera. It is STILL fascinating, but now that they have water and heat and other amenities of modern life, believe me it is much nicer…for the tourist as for the inhabitants.

By: Fred

Fred — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:28:51 +0000

My wife and I visited Matera in the summer of 2006 while visiting with our Italian exchange student and her parents. It was a visit that will not be forgotten and the history behind it is also extraordinary. If you have a chance, don’t pass up the opportunity to go and spend a few nights there.

By: Stanley Crabb

Stanley Crabb — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:23:30 +0000

Paul Velotta, we are surprisingly close…we live in Hopkinsville. We might consider meeting somewhere in the future. I am wondering if their town could be San Paolo Martese..? As far as I know, Christian County KY did not receive a lot of people of Italian descent. About ten years ago, an Italian company built a USA branch here. Their base was Udine, in the NE corner of Italy. COMEFRI USA produces industrial fans. There are currently about 4 Italian families living permanently in Hoptown. We are all friends. None of them had any idea about Matera in the 50s and 60s. Thanks for getting back to me. I think Italiannotebook.com is one of the most interesting sites on the web for Italy, don’t you? SC

By: PaulVelotta

PaulVelotta — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:31:47 +0000

Stanley your account is fasinating because you know so much about the area. My grandparents came from San Polo Martese,Italy,in the mountains and that village goes back many hundred years also. When I visited there is was very emotional for me to be in my Grandfathers footsteps.He settled in Owensboro Ky. and that is the place of my birth also. Small world isn’t it.

By: Stanley Crabb

Stanley Crabb — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:45:59 +0000

Stanley…again…to ALL: by the way, when we lived in Matera there were about 40,000 inhabitants. Under Mussolini Matera was made Province Capital and that’s when the move from the Sassi began. We actually lived in one of the first buildings “above” — it was built for government/provincial workers. SC

By: Stanley Crabb

Stanley Crabb — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:42:57 +0000

Just another thought or two about our life in “wonderful” Matera. Life was very hard for most people back in the early 60s. Mussolini is credited with having provided water to many towns; there were “fontane” (fountains) that always had good water from the Acquedotto Pugliese. But the number of these was of course limited. I knew of about three in Matera down in the Sassi and maybe two up in “new” Matera. The fascinating “caves” had been hewn out of solid, but porous limestone rock. About the time of Christ they moved to the west side of the “Gravina” (ravine) because of the added amount of sunshine. The other side had caves dating back 10-12 thousand years. Life in a sasso consisted of a large room (living and bed-room and even kitchen). If you were fortunate enough to have a stove and an exhaust through the “roof” (top of cave) you might create a corner for the K. Most had no bathroom or if so, it was usually a carved-out small area off this room. There was no plumbing. Water before Mussolini was available ONLY down in the gravina (3-400 ft. down) where there was a little waterfall. Women had to carry their clay water pots on their head or hip down to get it…first thing in the morning. That would be the day’s supply. Most Materani were illiterate, day-workers unless they were fortunate enough to have an acre or two of land, usually several hours out of town via their donkey-drawn carts. The Central Post Office employed a “scrivano” who was available if you needed to compose a legal document or even send a postcard. They would write it for a fee. Women were often not served in banks, because “women didn’t have money” unless it was from questionable source. No man would give his wife large amounts of money! Although my wife and I had a joint account, she was offended by that innuendo by a bank clerk who didn’t want to serve her. When a man went to the bank, he should be dressed in a suit and tie! Only she and two other women in town had drivers licenses. When we return to Matera now, we get lost due to a lot of development. To John Ledbetter who wonders if Matera will “lose its soul”, which soul? The one we knew quite well is long gone and we are thankful. It was an extremely hard life. And to Maria Valloni regarding Carlo Levi, I finally located his town, Aliano (and Alianello–he wrote Galiano, etc.) and they are both 5 hours from Mater! I did locate Levi’s house, the only “modern” one there, painted blue. That was indeed “exile” in those days. Long live ancient Matera! Long live La Basilicata! Stanley Crabb

By: Stanley Crabb

Stanley Crabb — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:35:02 +0000

Dear Evanne, I am so grateful to you for highlighting Matera! We were fortunate to live IN Matera prior to all of those changes. At the time I was pastor of the Matera Baptist Church and lived in Via Gramsci with my wife, Patricia, and our two children during those nearly two years. As an American you can imagine what a strange animal I was living THERE. I would have much to say, many examples of life there (from January 2nd, 1962 to Summer, 1963). As we watched the development over the succeeding years, mostly caused – let’s face it – by the discovery of methane gas in the Valley of Ferrandina in 1960 or 61, we experienced the development of MAN from the earliest times to the present. I KNEW and loved those people, the “Materrese”. I could, and perhaps should, write a book, but at 76 living in Kentucky (USA) and again pastoring a church, I have had to limit that desire! I would love to correspond with you or others about those days long gone. Thank you for stimulating a flood of vivid memories about that time. Stanley Crabb

By: Giovanna

Giovanna — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:25:54 +0000

My sister and I visited Matera after a visit to Trulli. When we walked through the piazza and up to the rail we stopped in out tracks. What a sight to behold. We wandered through the area and couldn’t believe that people had lived there right up to the fifties. I also can see why Mel Gibson used it for the setting for the movie.We enjoyed the entire area. It was a wonderful experience. I ould visit again.