Morning walk in Matera

When I was organizing this current trip to Italy, I focused on Puglia. Why? Because it’s a region of Italy that neither N or I had visited before and it was slightly below the radar of most American travelers to Italy. Plus, I had put together a case of mixed wines and I had selected a couple of bottles from Puglia and they were delicious.

Let’s just say that I’m open to signs from the universe.

As I researched different towns around the heel of Italy, , I learned of Matera, an ancient city in Basilicata (which neighbors Puglia) and decided to loop that into the trip as a way to steer us towards the west coast and Naples, where we would both eventually be flying home from. I was attracted, in part, by what I learned about the history of this 10,000+ year my old history, but especially by the thought of visiting the caves where some residents lived, without utilities or running water, until the 1950s.

We arrived in Matera Thursday afternoon and the view from our accommodations was directly on the caves which had intrigued me. In the late afternoon, as we sat on our terrace watching people traverse the circuitous trails as they ascended or descended from exploring the caves, I knew I absolutely had to make this trek myself.

I woke up early, a benefit of insomnia which generally doesn’t allow me to sleep more than or four hours uninterrupted. Knowing that I didn’t want the heat to become a factor, I got myself dressed and was out the door by 6:45. I wasn’t exactly clear on how to reach the suspension bridge which spans the oasis like lower ravine, but the path was easy enough to find as I worked down stairway after stairway.

Speaking of stairs, the fitness app that came loaded on my phone eventually totaled the number of floors I climbed – 71!

The hike down to the bridge was pretty intense. The path itself is strewn with rocks, broken shards of pottery and plenty of shattered glass in an array of colors, which makes it slippery, particularly in my Stan Smith’s. I made a point of stepping slowly and with caution and made my way to the bridge, virtually alone on the trail but with the accompaniment of noisy birds who seem to reside in the relatively lushness of the creek which divides the ravine in two.

The bridge itself was well constructed and maintained, facts which helped calm the beating of my heart. I’m not really a fan of heights or bridges which sway, but crossing the suspension bridge was accomplished quickly, leaving me now on the side where I would need to climb up to reach the caves.

On this side of the ravine it was, unlike how it would be in the afternoon, blessedly shady. Keeping my eyes on my feet on a path that, at times, swiped perilously close to the proverbial edge, I chanced the occasional glance up to the caves.

Wow, I was doing this – I’d actually be going inside ancient homes which had remained occupied consistently until the middle of the 20th Century!

The trail switched back and forth, gaining elevation with each turn. I began to level up with some caves and made my way into the first of them, surprised by the spaciousness of the interior. The caves were empty beyond the names of previous visitors which had been scratched on the walls. I imagined what it must have been like to wake up in the morning and to have the view I attempted to capture below.

In many ways, 7 decades is a long time for these shelters to have been vacant. There no longer are any remnants of those who had once occupied these caves or how they may have appeared. At least until I came to a cave which had functioned as a church for, what is likely, thousands of years. In this cave, faded frescoes remain, along with an altar, and it was mind blowing to consider how many people had worshipped here over the centuries.

This church is secured by a metal gate to deny access to contemporary visitors (and potential graffiti artists), but I was able to grab a couple of shots through the bars. Incredible.

I began my descent, to be followed by my climb back to where I had begun an hour earlier. I can’t lie, I felt ridiculously satisfied with myself and the efforts I had expended to have a glimpse of these magical caves. What a privilege it is to be physically capable of making this trek to such a special place!

If you ever make it to Matera, I highly recommend making an effort to experience this one of a kind hike. What a way to start a day!