Matera

Last stop: Matera in the region of Basilicata, the "instep" of Italy.

This is the view from my hotel room window at dawn.

Because the rock in this area is so soft, in prehistoric times, inhabitants simply carved into the stone to live.

My guess is that this is pretty much how it looked up until the 1950's, when residents of area were still living in the "Sassi" without running water or electricity. The Italian government relocated citizens to a modern part of town.

However, tourism has become an economic boom (re: people like me) and so the two main ravines which contained the majority of the "Sassi" have been restored, even gentrified, and hotels, restaurants and families have moved back into the region.

Oh, Italy, I love you so, errors and all.

The town of Metaponto was a major Greek city of Magna Grecia. This is the remnants of the Temple of Hera.

It is here on this spot that it is believed that Pythagoras lived his final years. This is purported to be his home and his tomb is here or nearby.

The morning I returned to Viterbo, I went for a tour of the Grotte Castellana. It was a 1.5 km walk in a cave to get to the most amazing "Grotto Bianco." Think white stalactites and stalagmites as far as the eye can see.

Puglia: Lecce and Leuca

Way at the end of the "heel" of Italy is the city of Lecce. It was founded by the Romans around the 3rd century BC. Here is the Roman amphitheater that sits half uncovered in the central piazza of the city.

However, around the late 1700's, when Baroque architecture was in fashion, the Leccese took it to the nth degree. Walking around town, you turn a corner and there is another church facade that makes you almost chuckle. The stone is almost honey colored and you'll see that the feeling is almost whimsical. I'll proceed from most tame to the famous Santa Croce. Here is Chiesa del Gesu.

Chiesa di Santa Maria della Grazie

Chiesa di Sant' Irene

Right on the facade of Sant' Irene is the town symbol of Lecce.

Chiesa di Santa Chiara

Chiesa di San Matteo

And we're ramping up with Chiesa del Rosario






.....and we have Chiesa di Santa Croce.

Here's a closer look at the top portion.

I think it's great that the animals are holding up their portion with little difficulty, while the humans are struggling.

The Lecce Duomo and piazza are the second best I've seen in Italy (after Siena). The piazza is enclosed with only one entrance. It's fabulous.

But even better at night!

Here is the tip of the "heel" of Italy. It's the town of Leuca and there really isn't much there. But it's the "end" of the country.

Puglia: The Trulli of Valle d'Itria

Driving south along the "heel" of Italy, you start seeing lots of stone walls in the fields and then, a bunch of these conical-roofed buildings in the fields, called "Trulli"

They are built from local stone without any mortar. There is a theory that they were built in such a way to be dismantled quickly to avoid taxation.

The town of Alberobello has whole neighborhoods with these trulli. The architecture is right for its environment as the buildings are cool in summer and retain heat in the winter.

The trulli are decorated with symbols and topped with a capstone, sometimes indicating which family lives inside.

Puglia: Castel del Monte & Trani

The November trip this year took the students to Umbria. I instead went down to the "heel and instep" of Italy, to the regions of Puglia and Basilicata. These regions, along with the "toe", Calabria, make up the southern part of Italy, historically the poorest in the country. Why did I go? Because it's off season (this is the place where Italians like to spend the summer) and well, because there it is. I found a cheap flight from Rome to Bari, rented a car and off I went. First stop, Castel del Monte, near the town of Andria and the city of Trani.

The Castel del Monte, built by the great Fredrick the II between 1240 and 1250, stands high on a hill. It's also a tribute to geometry as it is an octagon with octagonal turrets.

Historians debate why it was built at all, because it doesn't have any traditional defensive characteristics, such as a moat. Perhaps because it sits high on a hill, it is easy to defend, but some think it was a pleasure palace.

Here'a plan of the Castel del Monte! Octagons and trapezoids too.

Not sure if you can make out the trapezoid shape of the room.

A staircase

Next stop was the coastal city of Trani. I arrived in port just as the fisherman were unloading the days catch.

I was offered this entire basket of fresh shrimp for 5 Euro. Alas, I didn't have a kitchen, but later on that evening, I had the first of my many great meals. The best of this evening was a ceci (garbanzo bean) and squid soup.

The great site of Trani is the cathedral.

Like many of the great sites in this region, it was built in the late 1100's to early 1200's, when it was under Norman Rule.

Ta Da!!!! The cathedral is built RIGHT ON THE WATER. It's a fantastic site.

This region was the crossroads of the Mediterranean, and Fredrick II had the goal of uniting Northern Europe with Jerusalem and the Arab world. The arch here has some of the whimsical touches of the Arab world.

Two people mauling each other? Or something else?

These HUGE bronze doors were cast in 1175 and were in place until 1990 when they were moved inside.

Even though the Renaissance passed this region by, the panels show the inklings of what we consider to be Renaissance artistic developments. Yeah, art history!