Our trip down south

[Lisa C.]

Originally Posted by Anastasia

You're very welcome Lisa - nice to see you here at last. Pull up a chair and tell us all about your trip and adventures last summer.

Okay, here goes - sorry so long-winded but there was so much to do and see.

I wasn’t sure if this was the right place to post the highlights of last summer’s trip or not, so please bear with me.
After visiting Ercolano, which was quite remarkable and still being renovated, we headed to Paestum, which we had last visited about 20 years ago. We wanted to show our 15-year-old son the beautiful temples. It was blazingly hot but well worth the trip.

We then drove to our first stop in Basilicata – an agriiturismo in the countryside of Matera, for a three night stay. We chose the location because of its pool which we felt was paramount in the middle of July in the south. We drove into Matera and were immediately descended upon by two men who urged us to take a tour of the Sassi. I was quite hesitant as I disdain organized tour groups but when we were told it was the only way to visit many of the caves and churches we acquiesced. We were the only Americans in the bunch, which we were thankful for. If you haven’t been to Matera, nothing quite prepares you for the sight which is truly awe-inspiring. The landscape is other-worldly and I highly recommend a visit. We also took in Montescaglio's abbey and La Cripta di Peccato Originale, which features gorgeous frescoes that are about 1,000 years old.

We then visited the "ghost town" of Craco, where some of my husband's family is from and where rumor has it where they once owned a palazzo. The town was abandoned in the 1960's due to landslides and it is now just frequented by curious tourists and the occasional film director. We also stopped in Pisticci which is quite picturesque with its famous red roofs and white houses. A side detour led us to Tursi, with its old Arab quarter, now undergoing renovations and home to the Nobel prize winning poet Albino Pierro.

We then drove through the winding roads passing calanchi cliffs to our next destination in the mountains of Northern Basilicata. We stayed in a converted convent from the 1700's which is now an agriturismo. The food was delicious and the hosts very hospitable and welcoming. One of our goals was to go to my husband's ancestral village to get our identity cards (we got our Italian citizenship in June of 2009) and see if there were any possible relatives left. We met with the anagrafe who had been very helpful in our citizenship quest and got to see records from my husband's family dating back about 150 years. My husband's grandfather, who was born in the USA but moved back to Italy for 10 years as a child, had no birth certificate in the USA but they had everything in our adopted commune. Who said all of the paperwork is a bad thing? If it wasn't for the Italian love of documenting everything, our quest for citizenship would have led to a dead end.

We also met several possible relatives but as we didn't have enough time to do a detailed search at the commune, that will have to wait until next summer. We were treated like royalty, though. The anagrafe appointed a retired lawyer to show us around the town and we were shown several beautiful churches that are only open on special occasions. The local printer, who may be related to my husband, gave us a cookbook of ancient recipes and several others on local history. He also extended a dinner invitation to us which we had to sadly decline as we had already reserved a meal at our agriturismo. Everyone was so kind and we plan on going back there next summer to investigate the family tree and area more.

We visited the breathtaking mountain villages of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa, which are linked by the Volo del Angelo zip line. For the uninitiated, this is the fastest and highest in Europe. Our son had planned on making the flight but as the age requirement is 16, that will have to wait until next summer as well.

We then spent an afternoon at the Lagi di Monticcio, where I was accosted by a white duck! We were sitting on a bench overlooking the lake, eating lunch, when it made its approach. It first went to my husband, who said "don't feed it" and then to my son. I kept saying, "can't we just give it a little piece of bread" but was told that I would be reinforcing bad behavior. Of course, it then moved on to me and he proceeded to bite me on the leg! That's what I get for trying to be nice! An ancient white hulk of a monastery looks down on the lake and is quite a site. We rented a paddle boat and happened upon a large pesce d'aqua, which looked rather frightening when it swam under our boat!

The last 2 days of our Basilicata adventure were spent in the Roman town of Venosa which is quite beautiful as well. It has Jewish catacombs, which we had never seen before and unfortunately we weren't able to this time as well as we were told that a three day advance reservation was needed. There is a beautiful abbey and roman ruins to visit as well.

Basilicata is a wild and beautiful area, with delicious food and gracious people and we look forward to our return and highly recommend a visit to anyone seeking an experience that is off the beaten path.

We then headed to the southern Marche, where we have been vacationing for the past 6 years and where we hope to eventually retire to. We stayed at our friend's agriturismo and got together with several forum friends. We had pre-arranged with our friends to leave our son for an additional 3 weeks so that he could work in exchange for his room and board. After spending the week in the province of Ascoli Piceno, we headed out for our last night in Bologna and to our return trip to the USA.

[Relaxed]

I trust that our most esteemed webmistress will copy Lisa's Basilicata review into the Basilicata section of the forum so I can find it again!

I too adored Matera, and hurriedly didn't do Pisticci justice - wonderful places in Basilicata are slightly widespread, but it is a region with an important 'posh' history and important remnants (like Matera). There are also some remnants of grinding poverty (like the other bit of Matera).

[Lisa C.]

Originally Posted by Relaxed

I trust that our most esteemed webmistress will copy Lisa's Basilicata review into the Basilicata section of the forum so I can find it again!

I too adored Matera, and hurriedly didn't do Pisticci justice - wonderful places in Basilicata are slightly widespread, but it is a region with an important 'posh' history and important remnants (like Matera). There are also some remnants of grinding poverty (like the other bit of Matera).

Hi Percy and Relaxed,

We plan on returning to Basilicata next July six days after our daughter's wedding (I must be a bit of a masochist). This time we will spend 3 days near Maratea to explore the area and such towns as Rivello and then head to the Pollino National Park to spend some time hiking and visiting the Albanian villages which sound fascinating to us. We'll then return to the mountain town in the North that we are inscribed in to search for relatives and explore further for a week or so. Our last week will be back in southern Marche staying at our friend's agriturismo and revisiting some towns we are considering moving to along with some new ones to check out. Our son will then stay on for another three weeks to again work for his room and board. I'll be sure to add the details to the Basilicata section then.

[Anastasia]

Hey, I'm getting good at this stuff now - I can even move posts into new threads and merge them if I have to! How cool is that?

Lisa - get yourself an avatar.

[Lisa C.]

As promised, here is the second installment of our trip to Basilicata, which we returned to this July.

We landed in Naples and drove to Cersuta, north of Maratea, for a three night stay at a bed and breakfast near the beach. The location was lovely and we had a room with a terrace and a sea view. A nearby path led so various rocky coves and we were at a lovely black pebbled beach within a 15 minute walk. The water was warm and so were the stones when we emerged after an hour or so from the sea. It was like walking on a bed of hot coals!

The scenery was breathtaking and we spend one morning with the owner of our bed and breakfast, who took us up the coast in his little skiff, past several beautiful Saracen towers and grottoes along the way.

We spent another day visiting Rivello and Maratea, which were remarkably tourist-free, at the time. Rivello, whose entire town is a national monument, was almost like a ghost town as there was almost no one in sight. We had tried to visit the Convento di Saint Antonio in Rivello but it was closed at the time of our visit. In fact, during much of the trip many churches, especially those that were very old, were closed. It appears that you must phone ahead to gain entrance.

The scenery along the coast was spectacular and unspoiled compared to many other coastal areas we have visited. The weather was very humid and hot and the scenery very green and lush.

We then departed for the Pollino National Park for another three night stay. We were the only guests at the agriturismo. The food prepared by the owner was delicious and we had to go for a nightly walk to work off the effects of eating too much. There were several other agriturismos along the way and all were empty, which was kind of eerie, especially since we discovered that the owner of our agriturismo left each night for the village, once the kitchen was cleaned up.

The agriturismo down the road had the small "daino" deer that they had fenced in, along with an ostrich which seemed to stand guard. We walked up to him and he squatted down and moved his head quickly back and forth while hitting his sides with his wings. He was an intimidating sight!

The park itself is lovely with numerous sheep and cows that roam freely in many parts. The mountain views were spectacular and we pretty much had the whole park to ourselves. We attempted to hike one day but the trail was not well-marked and after a few hours we headed back. Along the way we saw a number of loose cows, including a rather large bull, but luckily he did not seem interested in us.

One morning, we drove to the Calabrian side of the park and spent a very pleasant hour rafting down the river. As it was our first time rafting, we opted for the class 1 - 2 trip, which I would highly recommend. As tree branches loomed overhead, we had to duck and we also had to watch for narrow walls along the way. We went over five or so falls, expertly navigated by our guide who had just graduated from high school. Our son wanted to go back the next day for the class 3-4 rapids, which was a four hour trip, but that will have to wait for another time.

We spent another day exploring the Albanian villages of San Paolo Albanese and San Constantino. We had high hopes after reading about them as various authors depicted villages with a people who had managed to keep their language, dress and traditions. We only saw one old woman who was still in traditional dress. It appeared that the rest had abandoned the towns in favor of an area more condusive for work. We went away rather disappointed. The highlight of the towns was the Museo della Cultura Arbereshe in San Paolo Albanese which depicted some traditional dress and fiber from local plants that the villagers used in making clothing. Upon our arrival, we had found the museum to be closed, but we were able to phone and have an employee meet us there. We had the museum to ourselves, with the exception of two women who arrived shortly after us.

We then headed to the charming village of Terranova di Pollino, for a delicious lunch at Ristorante Tipico Luna Rossa, which is a tre gamberi restaurant. We sat on the outside terrace with a mountain view to die for. My husband, son and I all had the tasting menu, and we spent 2 hours lingering over the “best meal I ever had” per our son. The owner-chef regaled us with descriptions of each dish upon presentation. He apparently is quite well-known and runs cooking classes at various times. If any of you are ever in the area, it is worth the trip.

After leaving Pollino, we went back to the mountains further north where we remained for six days in a small village of 750 people. We had stayed at the same agriturismo last summer and were eager to go back for the kind hospitality and mouth-watering meals that our friends are known for. The village is about a 20 minutes drive from the town my husband's ancestors hail from. When we were there last year, we had our pictures taken for our carte d’identita by the local photographer, who is also an expert marksman. Our son is keenly interested in target shooting and this man had offered to take him to the rifle range if we were there over a weekend. We called and my husband and son took him up on his offer, spending the morning shooting and getting to know our new friend. He also gave us some black truffles that his dog had dug up. Our friend prepared them as part of our dinner that night.

Our son finally got his wish and also went on the “Volo del Angelo” which is the fastest and I believe highest zip line in Europe, connecting the mountain villages of Castelmezzaano and Pietrapersosa. He flew over a gorge at about 1200 feet and then got back on at another point and headed back towards the village we were waiting it. It was an exillarating experience for him and afterwards my husband regretted that he had not gone as well.

We were also able to attend a “Spectacolo” one night titled “Utopia”. It was set in the ruins of Campomaggiore Vecchio. In the 1800’s, a count had told people that he would give them land if they would come and settle there, which many did. There was then a terrible landslide and people were forced to flee. “Utopia” tells their story. It was set in the ruins of the old palazzo Baronale at night. We were very fortunate to have a full moon that evening, which shone through the remains of an upper window. Some of the actors were hoisted high above the ruins by crane and did various acrobatics overhead. Aside from having to wait an hour for the show to start (due to the president of the region and his entourage being late) we all had a wonderful time.

We also visited the pretty cathedral town of Acerenza and the homely but practical city of Potenza. The moving staircase, which takes you to the heart of the city was very handy. As we are exploring several regions of Italy in which to live, a place like Potenza is a convenient base to pick up many necessities that the small villages we prefer don’t offer.

The food and wine in Basilicata is very tasty and the bread is as well. The Aglianico wines have a distinct flavor that we have become very fond of. We also find the people to be very hospitable and friendly, especially when they find out that my husband’s family is from the area. The area is wild and rugged, with numerous hawks and owls and other wildlife. It is remarkably tourist-free for now and I hope that doesn’t change too much.

[Oneto15]

Ani.

Can you merge this thread with the original to make it into a complete story.

[Anastasia]

Originally Posted by Oneto15

Ani.
Can you merge this thread with the original to make it into a complete story.

Sorted.

[twiglet smuggler]

Fantastic stuff Lisa, can we have some photos please

[PennyW]

Thank you Lisa, (the Grazie button seems to have disappeared), loved it. Really whetted the appetite for a visit to the south. photos and any more would be great!
(Assume the grazie button has gone as it has been moved)

[Anastasia]

Grazie button should still be there! Anyone elses Grazie button gone AWOL?