8-9 September 2023 Murgia
National Park Tour and Walking Tour of Matera
Today the
Patrice and Larry Stevens joined us from their Norwegian cruise and we took a
tour to the Murgia National Park, home to many Rupestrian churches. Built inside caves on the ravine opposite the
city of Matera, the frescoes, created by a community of Benedictine monks, date
back to 700-899 A.D.
We started our
tour by walking along the top edge of the plateau enjoying the spectacular views
of the Sassi from across the ravine.
While not too steep, the trail was very rocky in places, so we all had
to be careful. Today was a beautiful
day, but the wind was really blowing so it really wasn’t a hat day – we saw one
father reach down the side of the plateau to retrieve his son’s hat. The park area was very dry – it has been 2
months since it has rained, so most of the wildflowers and plants dead. We did see a few flowers that had managed to
survive and 2 tiny lizards.
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| Trail in the Murgia Park |
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| View of the Sassi from the Park |
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| Small Lizard |
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| View of the Sassi from the Park |
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| Snail Shells on branch of a weed |
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| View of Sassi from the Park |
We visited one
of the rock cave churches – the Church of Madonna delle Tre Porte. It dates back to the 13th century
and its frescoes are still very vivid.
However, several sections of the frescoes are missing as a German
professor (with 2 students) went into the church in the 1980’s and chiseled our
about 60 pieces of the frescoes.
Fortunately, a shepherd saw the man and saw that he had a car with
German plates and contacted the police.
They were able to trace the professor and when they entered his home in
Germany they found the missing frescoes.
As it was impossible to put them back into their original location,
these parts of the frescoes are housed in the Matera Museum. Some people have no respect for
antiquities. Located on the side wall of
the church is the altar with its fresco of the Annunciation with its Kyriotissa
(the Virgin Mary Enthroned as a Queen).
Also found inside the church are carved graffiti crosses that were made
by pilgrims who made their way to the church over the years. Another fresco shows the Madonna and Child
who is holding a pomegranate, which was a symbol of the Resurrection. |
| Fresco of Annunciation with the Virgin Mary |
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| Madonna and Child with Pomegranate |
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| Crucifiction |
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| Fresco with Missing Section |
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| Cross carved in 1607 |
After our tour, our guide dropped
us off as close to the Hotel Sassi as he could – the hotel is located within
the pedestrian area of Matera and cars are not allowed. However, the hotel did send some porters to
carry our luggage to the hotel. This
hotel is where we will meet our Trip Leader (TL) Claudio and the rest of our
OAT group. In 1996, the Hotel Sassi
became the first hotel inside the Sassi of Matera, built from a large 16th
century residential complex. It is
centrally located and just a short walk to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, Matera’s
main square.
In the evening we met the rest of
our small group. In addition to the 4 of
use, there is Mike and Caroline from Connecticut and Laura from Maryland. We all convened on the hotel’s terrace for a
short meeting and then walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Meals here in Matera (and Puglia in general)
are mainly vegetarian. The vegetables
are all organic and very fresh. Some are
mixed with pasta, especially Orecchiette (Little Ears). The meals consist of about 4 courses,
including a salad, pasta, an eggplant or pepper dish, and a small serving of a
meat, generally little meat balls in a tomato sauce. The food is very good and so far, Bill has
not complained about not having any steak!
But he also loves eggplant, so he is happy.
The next morning
we had a walking tour of the Sassi with a local guide, Angelo. We walked out around the Sassi area where we
had views of the Murgia
National Park. After climbing up the Sassi (here come
another 10,000 step day), we visited another rupestrian church – Church of St.
Mary of Idres – that was built during the 14th-15th
centuries into the large limestone rock of Monterrone Cliff which dominates the
landscape of the Sasso Caveoso area.
Unfortunately, the façade, made from 15th century tuff (a porous
rock made from volcanic ash), collapsed soon after it was constructed and had
to be rebuilt. Part of the church was
carved into the rock while another part was built outside the rock. A small bell gable stands next to the church.
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| View of Sassi from our walk |
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| View of Old part of Sassi |
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| Little Piazza on our way up to the Church |
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| View of Sassi from the Church |
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| Rock Church - Church of St. Mary of Idres |
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| Cathedral of Matera |
The interior
seen today is completely different from the original design. During renovations, many of the frescoes were
removed for restoration and are today housed in the Superintendence for the
Historical and Artistic Heritage of Matera.
On the altar is a 17th century painting of the Madonna with
Child while around the altar is a painting of the Conversion of Sant’
Eustachio, statues of the Holy Family, and a painting called Crucifixion
that has the town of Matera as a backdrop.
On the left of
the altar is a tunnel (which has a fresco showing St. John the Baptist) that
connects the church with the rupestrian church of Crypt of San Glovanni where
there are several frescoes dating back to the 12th century. This was the baptistery of San Pietro Caveoso. Some of the frescoes carved into the rock
show the Annunciation and the Baptism of Jesus, St. James and St. Peter. On the ground of the church is a medieval
baptismal font and on the opposite side a fresco of St. John the
Evangelist. From a distance both
churches appear to be just one.
Unfortunately, photos were not allowed to be taken inside the church, so
I will have to rely on the internet for pictures of these frescoes.
Frescoes Inside the
Church of St. Mary of Idres
Our last stop
was to another Casa Grotta where we again saw how the people of Matera lived
prior to 1952 when they were removed from the Sassi because of very poor
sanitation conditions. Again, these
pictures below show how a family of 6 lived in these very tight quarters along
with all their animals.
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| Kitchen area of Casa Grotta |
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| Bedroom |
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| Stable area |
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| Area Where they Stored Water and Tools |
Lunch was
included and consisted of a salad with a small pasta dish of Orecchiette pasta and tiny
meatballs baked in a tomato and cheese sauce.
It was one of the best meals we have had so far. Orecchiette comes from this area and is
generally handmade by the women. Small
pieces are cut from a roll of pasta dough and then using either their fingers
or a knife, they turn the piece into a small round shell-like pasta. It is fast becoming my favorite pasta!
We
all rested in the afternoon before joining Larry and Patrice on their balcony
for a little wine before dinner. There
we met a woman from Australia who was supposed to join her tour that afternoon. However, British Air was not cooperating and
the rest of her tour were still stuck in London. So we invited her to join as that evening for
dinner so she would not have to eat alone.
Claudio took all of us to a restaurant owned by a friend of his that,
again, specialized in vegetarian meals.
I was truly surprised at how good everything was – stuffed eggplant and
peppers, Orecchiette pasta with turnip greens and several other very tasty
dishes. One dish that they serve a lot
is fried red peppers. They are very
crispy, slightly sweet, and not spicy at all.
And of course, plenty of red and white wine to wash down the meal! A fitting meal for our last night in Matera.
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