Matera: from 'Shame of Italy' to European Capital of Culture

                                     

      After I told you about my trip to Puglia, I still owed you an Italian travel story, the last one for this year. And so it went, that on one of the days of this trip, we ended up in the neigbouring region of Basilicata, historically known as Lucania. Perhaps not many of you have heard of it, but this region, situated between Puglia and Calabria, is also home to Matera, the European Capital of Culture of 2019. Indeed, not even I knew much about this city until its designation, back in 2014. 

          

      
     What makes Matera so special? First of all, it doesn't look like anything else in the world. Its rocky historical center, also known as 'I sassi di Matera' ('The rocks of Matera'), is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1993, the first one in Southern Italy. The 'sassi' are divided in two main areas: 'sasso Barisano', situated in the direction of the road to Bari, and 'sasso Caveoso', consisting of cave houses, carved in calcarous stone, and probably inhabited since prehistoric times. 

            

                         

       However, until the 1950s, Matera ended up being known as 'the shame if Italy'. Because, in these rocky houses, where nothing had been changed for centuries, entire families were living their lives in dire conditions. Can you imagine a small room, where a family of 10-12 members plus their domestic animals were eating, sleeping and living their daily life? Now we can, because these houses can be visited as museums, with guided tour included. Unbelievable as it may sound, this situation carried on until 1952, when Alcide De Gasperi, Prime Minister at that time, decided to move out the population of the rocky houses and started off the city's restructuration. The action was met with great resistance, but in the end all is well that ends well. Nowadays, apart from the historical and cultural value, many of these houses are also hotels, restaurants, shops and even homes, in spite of the high level of humidity.

               

           
     Here in Matera I also discovered the creativity of the people in connection with... food. Matera is famous for its bread ('pane materano'), and the people in the past were so poor, that they invented the 'cialedda', which is nothing more than bread salad. A mix of bread chunks, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, herbs and olive oil. Talk about turning something as simple as bread into something that may sound strange at first, but I am telling you that it's delicious! And it all goes better if concluded with a small glass of Amaro Lucano. :)

                         

        
      Nevertheless, Basilicata has remained one of Italy's poorest  and most remote regions, with under-developped infrastructure and offering very few career opportunities. However, it is hoped that with its newly-found status of European Capital of Culture, people from all over the world will start informing themselves more, consequently making tourism grow, and, at the same time, also the overall economy of the region.

                              

           
       My advice is to visit Matera at least once, and at least for one day. If you are looking for a place that is everything but common, with astonishing landscapes, and stories that will leave you speachless, here is your next destination. And of course, I wish Matera good luck with its new role, and to bring Basilicata and its people a well-deserved local development. 

          

European Day of Languages: Learning and Fun in One Short Event

       

       In 2001, the European Commission has established the European Day of Languages to be celebrated on the 26th of September each year. And today I managed to attend this event in Bucharest for the first time, as for the past years I never seemed to make it, for one reason or another. 

                              

          How was the event organized? In the yard of a famous Bucharest museum, several stands of the various European Cultural Institutes with a headquarter in our city, were waiting for their numerous visitors. The participating countries were: Germany, Turkey, Belgium, Great Britain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Spain, and of course the Representation of the European Commission in Bucharest.

          Each of the presenting countries made guests complete a task. This could be a cultural quiz, to verify your general knowledge about a specific nation, guessing famous landmarks from pictures and placing them on the country's map, matching fragments of literary texts with titles of literary works, memorizing games based on factual information on a specific city, or matching the meaning of certain words between Romanian and the host country's language.

               

        What did I learn today?

         .... Germans are not a hard nation to figure out. I scored 6 out of 10 questions from the cultural quiz of the Goethe Institut. So far so good, given the fact that I just started learning their not-so-easy language!

    .... Turkey is an amazing country, with spectacular landmarks. I really wish them more peaceful times ahead, so that everyone can relax and enjoy this country's beauties.

         .... I still know my English children's literature pretty well. Not one single mistake! And the Earl Grey tea I was offered crowned (ha!) my success.

            .... Portugal is a country that I'd like to visit in the near future. And for my seaside holiday in Algarve (nothing more, nothing less) I will need: chinelos, guarda-sol, toalha da praia and fato de banho. All clear, right? :)

            ... Greeks are even easier to figure out. From their 10-question quiz, I only got 1 wrong. And I got myself a map of Greece, in honour of my next travel destination (hint, hint!) :)

            .... I was warned that the quiz about Paris was difficult. But I got it right from the first time. And surprise: my French was not as 'imparfaite' as I thought!

          .... thanks to the Istituto Italiano di Cultura and their landmarks pictures, I found out even how Caserta looks like (one city I knew almost nothing about, apart from the fact that it's in Campania). They organize free movie evenings once a week, and the guy hosting the stand was really nice and cool. And Sicilian. ;)

            .... Hungary is a paradise of thermal water spas. Which sounds interesting! Brochure: taken. Koszonom szepen!

          .... Czech and Romanian have several similar words. Only the spelling can be tricky. But, with a bit of Staropramen beer, you might even become fluent!

             .... Polish and Romanian instead are sharing some pairs of homonyms. That is, words spelled and pronounced the same way, but which have different meanings in each language. For example, Romanian word 'pas', meaning 'step', in Polish means 'belt'. Or 'obraz' means 'cheek' in Romanian, and 'picture' in Polish. Not to mention that I came with 2 big brochures about Polish cities and touristic attractions. Time to consider another trip! :)

              .... switching languages may not be as difficult as one might think, but you might need an extra bit of concentration. Today I spoke English, French, Italian and Spanish with the relevant stands in a matter of minutes. And it was not difficult at all. On the contrary: it was actually fun.

             EDL is one of those events which are both fun and educational, and it doesn't last too long to visit each stand. Therefore, it is easy to squeeze between other commitments during the day. My only advice is not to lose your patience with the other visitors, as it is a pretty crowded event, including also families with children. But this demonstrates that people are up for some higher-level activities, not just watching reality shows on TV. And this can only make me happy!

Puglia - the Place where You'll Want to Remain Forever

 
     

   I admit I had never had as many chances to explore southern Italy as I would have liked. However, guess what: all is not lost, and it's better later than never (if you like cliches)! :P Therefore, moving from summer into autumn, I had my latest trip, and probably the last for the next couple of months. So, I headed off to Bari, the capital city of the region of Puglia, the heel of the Italian Boot. 

       

      The weather in the South is still very warm in September, so we enjoyed true summer, apart from the last 2 (rainy) days. I am telling you that from the moment I arrived I felt that the sun in Bari is shining in a different way, and the sea view is absolutely breath-taking. So much, that you feel you could be left there on the sea shore and relax for hours on end without getting bored. 

             

      Bari is an elegant and clean city, with wide streets and massive buildings, of different architectural styles. And for some reason, it is also pretty difficult to get lost, as the city center is somehow square, and wherever you walk, and no matter how much you go round, you end up in the same places you have seen before. Think about the fact that it was my first time in Bari, I am no master of orientation, and still I didn't get lost. One might argue that you have nothing to see in Bari, but it's not true. I could recommend you the Bari Castle (or Castello Normanno-Svevo), the Cathedral of St. Nicola, or a little stroll around the old city (Bari Vecchia). 
               

         
        However, what you must really know is that you should not limit yourself only to the city of Bari. From the Central Station, you can take several trains to the surrounding areas, for extra natural beauties, beaches or quirky places. Besides, there are 3 or 4 train companies operating from Bari, apart from the national company Trenitalia, and each company covers different destinations. Therefore, you must also pay attention where you want to go, and which train company goes there. There are different ticket offices and different stations, so be very careful. Prices vary according to distance, but in general it doesn't cost more than 5 euro a one way ticket.
         The first place I am advising you to visit is Polignano a Mare, if you want to go to the beach, and to enjoy a view which is even more impressive than the Bari sea shore. It basically gives you the feeling that infinity lies in front of you, and your thoughts and dreams become unlimited. I kid you not! :) 

      The beach is made of stones and cliffs, which means paradise for cliff divers, but also makes it quite uncomfortable for swimmers and sunbathers, if you don't have plastic slippers, as the chance to hurt your feet increases. I didn't have them. Nuff said! :) For a sandy beach, I was recommended Monopoli, but I didn't have time to get there too, so maybe next time I will be luckier. The water is clean and deep, and swimming around cliffs and under rocky tunnels is a special sensation. However, be careful here as well, because the sea gets deep at a rather short distance after entering, and soon you will stop touching bottom. Do not venture too far, do not swim too fast, and always make sure that your friends are around in case of an emergency. Last but not least, I am challenging you to find a famous friend in Polignano. He is a famous Italian singer and songwriter, who was originary from this town, and who made history with a song that the whole world knows. Guess who he is, find him and take a picture! :)

                 

        Another place which you should not miss is... yep, you guessed, Alberobello, a small town in the province of Bari. Alberobello is part of the UNESCO World Heritage thanks to its little houses called 'trulli', and which are a typical feature of the area. You will see entire streets made of these little houses, which might as well pass for the house of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in multiple copies. However, these houses can be homes, shops, restaurants and cafes and even hotels. Time for a relaxing stroll, buying souvenirs, typical foods and drinks, and getting impressed in front of so much cuteness! Speaking of souvenirs, let me tell you that most souvenirs you can buy are handmade, and apart from small miniature and magnet trulli, you will also see objects which have to do with traditional superstitions and rituals, such as the 'tree of life', bright and colourful, which apparently was given as a present by the young man of times past to his beloved, in order to bring fertility. Hmmm... Pugliese romanticism! :D

                

            Money-wise, the region of Puglia is a convenient place to visit. Food is cheap and delicious, although it is mainly based on bread and pasta - focaccia (bread with various toppings, mainly vegetables and cheese), panzerotto (like a breaded wallet stuffed with mozzarella and tomatoes), orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta, usually eaten with meat ragu' and parmesan cheese), tarallucci (small pretzels with different flavours, such as olives, herbs or chilly pepper). And if you visit Polignano, I recommend you to eat at the Pescaria, a restaurant specialized in fish dishes, including raw fish tartar. You will stay in the queue for quite a long while, but I promise it will be worth it. Also, in Alberobello you will find various types of sweet liquors, in flavours such as pistacchio and fico d'India (nothing else than cactus fruit).

             

      After my 4 days visit to Puglia (the 5th day was spent somewhere else, but we will talk about it soon), I swear that... it was hardly enough. But at least I saw a bit of everything I wanted to see. And I took lots of nice memories with me. Puglia is the place to be if you want to relax and feel on top of the world!