“The past always looks better than it was because it isn’t here.”
Finley Peter Dunne
We started our drive from Bari, Puglia (or Apulia), the southern Italian province referred to as “the heel of the boot”. We drove past some the most scenic sights of Southern Italy, through Forest Mercadente, which was dotted with olive trees and cherry blossoms. There was absolutely no one in sight. At one point, we even stopped, had a drink of water, ate some cookies and clicked pictures. Not a SINGLE car went by.
As we drove closer, the beautiful little town of Matera came in sight. It looked like any other small town in Italy. Tiny buildings, tiny cars. We followed the directions on Google Maps and suddenly, spun around a roundabout and went back in time by a few decades. That’s when we realised that on one side of the canyon was a modern city, on the other side of the canyon was old Matera, an area so ancient that it was used to portray Judea in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” Often called the Sassi (which means stone), or the City of Stone, this part of Matera is a maze of caves and churches dating back to Roman times with zigzagging steps and stone facades carved from a massive slope of yellowed tufa.
We noticed some film equipment being moved around and some shooting being wrapped up. We only later realised that ‘Wonder Woman’ was being shot right next to our hotel. Nevertheless, I can always pretend I knew beforehand and that it was part of the reason we chose Matera.
We parked at a clearing and struggled our way up the stony stairs to our fairytale suite. We spent the rest of the day admiring our room and being lazy.
Matera: I Wonder, Woman!
We woke up to the mouth-watering whiff of coffee, croissants, cakes, pizza, cheese, fruits and so much more. We followed our noses to the restaurant and were met by the sight of a lavish spread that we had never seen or tasted before. Oh the coffee! Coming from someone who swears by the typical, tambrahm filter coffee, the coffee here beat it, hands down!
Our tour guide, Cosimo greeted us at our hotel restaurant right after. It was cold and rainy. He walked us to some unimaginably old, yet unbelievably beautiful chapels with elegant frescoes that were chipped off at some places and made way for new ones as Christianity evolved. We went around the labyrinthine stairs to some old wine cellars, ancient grottos that portrayed the Matera way of life almost centuries before us and visited some charming little kitchen gardens.
While on the move, I naively pointed out to Cosimo that he must have been really lucky to have grown up in a place as beautiful as Matera. And then he said something very interesting. He said that these limestone caves and houses were originally inhabited by slaves and the outcast. Without proper sanitation and drainage systems, Matera was actually a breeding ground for infections and diseases. At one point it had to be evacuated. It is today that these old, limestone houses have been transformed into gorgeous luxury hotels and residences. Thanks to the United Nations.
We ended our tour late afternoon, it started raining as we walked back to our room, oh my God, it was cold. The streets were empty, there was an eerie silence which was suddenly broken by the church bells; we saw a headless goose on a parapet wall and literally ran to our hotel room to save our lives.
Trani: Over the horizon
We left for Trani early, next morning, to make it back in time for supper.
As we drove closer, we spotted the horizon.
Now, frankly, I wonder why we haven’t heard more of this place!
Trani has a captivating view of the shoreline and boats bobbing in the harbour, a beautiful chapel that looked like it was recently built and some of the best panoramas Italy has to offer.
We walked along a lonely ramp to a light house. Well, we were actually stalking a cat which led us to an amazing view. The photographers in both of us woke up with a jolt. The next few minutes were spent attempting panoramas from every angle.
We got tired and found our way to a quaint little restaurant for some pizza. We spent a little time walking around and then drove back to Matera only to be spooked by the headless goose and the empty, cobblestoned alley.
Day 3: Alberobello
“Green gold olive trees, red soil, blue sky and white houses. The world is beautiful, I love the world.”
Vito, our tour guide
We researched a little about Alberobello, and everything about it seemed very attractive, including the fact that a Bollywood song was shot there.
We met Vito, our tour guide at Bari station who drove us to Alberobello. Continuing our path around the perimeter of the forest from Vieste we enjoyed vistas of the Adriatic coastline with clear blue waters.
As we drove closer, we spotted the tiny white and grey hut like structures. If the Hobbits had to suddenly take up residence in southern Italy, they’d likely do so in the trulli dotting the countryside of Alberobello. Many of these stone hut structures, often dating to the 14th-15th centuries, were originally built to house agricultural workers or as storage buildings. Why this style of home became so popular is still a bit of a mystery. One appealing theory posited: people built trulli so they could easily dismantle them before the tax collector arrived. How’s that for a clever tax dodge?
While we went around the tiny little town, which also happens to be a busy tourist attraction in peak season, we saw many small shops selling souvenirs, but among them we found one appealing local shop, spoke to the owners there, and got introduced to some of the best wine from the region.
To say the least, we clicked a gazillion pictures.
We went back to Matera a little later that evening, and walked our way up the lonely streets, crossed the headless goose, who started to seem friendlier now and went straight to our room to get ready for our date night.
I sincerely made an effort to dress up and look pretty. We went to a Michelin Star restaurant, Baccanti, for dinner. The meal was, to say the least, divine! Goat cheese starters, pink sauce pasta and the best tiramisu either of us have ever had. V even stole a wine cork for me, as a souvenir of this fairytale land and the fairytale dinner.
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