David Turns 40 in a Cave in Matera

After our first night in Bari, we woke up fairly early and picked up a rental car. While we usually use public transportation and trains while traveling internationally, in some cases, especially in more rural areas, a rental car can open up some interesting travel opportunities.  The idea of a southern Italy road trip was intriguing to us. We picked up our Toyota, and were thrown into the fray immediately when our GPS took us right through the center of the city of Bitonto, rather than routing around it. We survived the congestion and narrow streets, and the rest of the trip was mostly smooth sailing. Paul quickly learned the rules and procedures of driving - people don't use turn signals, and the speed limits are a mere suggestion. Otherwise, it was pretty easy to get around by car and we never had much of a problem with parking or traffic.

Our first destination was Castel del Monte, a UNESCO world heritage site. This would have been extremely difficult to visit without a car. It's in a rural area with an infrequent bus. Under normal circumstances (e.g., pre-pandemic during the summer season) there's a large parking lot at the bottom of the hill the castle sits on, and you take a shuttle or walk up. On our visit, the place was deserted, and you could drive your car right up near the castle. There was only one other car there on this blustery winter day, but there was a tour guide waiting around outside. We went ahead and hired her, partially because we didn't know much about the castle and thought a guided tour would be interesting, and partially because we felt bad that she was standing around in the cold! Castle del Monte is a very odd and unique castle, built from 1240-1250 by King Frederick II, who was holy Roman emperor at the time. The exact purpose of the "castle" is unknown, it could have served as a hunting lodge and spa. The structure itself is remarkably well preserved for being almost 800 years old, but almost all of the interior decoration has been stripped away over the centuries. We saw remnants of an ancient piping system, indoor bathrooms, sculptural elements, and "mortadella" marble.

David with the castle.

The central courtyard of the castle.

Staircase between levels. Most of the marble decoration is long gone.

360 degree views from the castle out towards the Adriatic.

Looking up from the courtyard.

Maria pointing things out while trying to not be blown over by the freezing wind!

Leaving the castle we began a leisurely drive toward Matera. Although it was overcast, we had nice views of farms, abandoned buildings, and small towns. There was hardly any traffic and it was nice to see such a remote corner of Italy. We took a route past the historic town of Gravina in Puglia, briefly stopping at a viewpoint on the edge of a ravine across from the town. The most recent James Bond movie was filmed here, including a major action scene on the ancient bridge across the ravine.

This was our trusty ride for the trip.

A railroad bridge across the farmlands.

Empty back roads!

Stunning vista of Gravina in Puglia.

We continued on to Matera, parking our car in a deck in the new part of town and taking the shuttle van to our hotel. For David's 40th birthday we sprung for a very unique and high-end hotel, Hotel Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita. This hotel is an albergo diffuso, so rather than one big hotel building the rooms are spread across a neighborhood. In this case, each room is a cave. Each room has been tastefully modernized. The bathroom of our cave was where the animals used to sleep! We definitely recommend this hotel as a really unique splurge.

We had a quick lunch at a counter-service place called I Due Sassi, and then walked around exploring Matera. The city does have some attractions, but the most interesting thing is just walking around and exploring the winding streets and amazing views. Unfortunately, it was a cold and rainy day, but we made the most of it, ducking in to a few churches, the Museo Nazionale de Matera, and underground cisterns.

Our cave hotel room.

The candlelit bathroom, complete with ancient cistern.

They key to our room was legit!

Entrance to one of the hotel rooms.

View over the ravine.

Matera's ancient streets are fun to wander.

Quick focaccia/pizza for lunch.

The chiesa and convento san Francisco d'assisi.

Interesting skull carvings on a door.

Exhibit in the museum of ancient housing styles.

Matera has a few cute little squares.

Great views around every corner.

Looking over at another sassi.

Brief rainbow appearance.

Did we mention it was rainy and cold? :)

An ancient underground aqueduct.

A huge cistern in the basement of St. John's church.

Next, we visited the two big churches in Matera, starting with San Pietro Caveoso, also known as Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church. This church on the edge of the ravine was originally built in 1218, and has been continuously expanded and updated over the centuries. It's thus a mix of time periods, with a 17th century façade, 16th century polyptych, and 18th century main altar. We passed through a Christmas market that was being set up but wasn't yet ready, and then walked the short distance to the main cathedral, a 13th century building perched on the highest point of Matera. This was another treasure trove of religious art, including Byzantine style frescoes from the year 1270. We did a little bit of tourist shopping, and then a very chilly walk back to our hotel room (accidentally taking a longer path).

The church of San Pietro Caveoso sits majestically on the precipice of the ravine.

Views for days!

The painted ceiling of the church.

We weren't complaining about the sunset views either.

Some more recent art - statues overlooking the ravine.

Art in the cathedral, preserved beneath the floor.

The interior of the cathedral.

A square between the modern and old parts of Matera.

Another little church.

Starting to get dark.

Matera at night.

For David's birthday dinner, we went to Tierra, a restaurant deep in the basement of a building on the edge of the sassi area. Shout-out to Kyung-Hwa for treating us to David's birthday dinner! Highlights were an egg dish with chicory and fried onions, carmalized bread with salted olive oil ice cream and warm chocolate panatone.

Down some stairs toward the restaurant.

A delicious poached egg dish with chicory and onions.

Paul enjoying his egg!

Pork Italian-style "bao."

Pasta time! This one was uniquely flavored with grape must.

Amazing desert of caramelized bread, olive oil ice cream, and orange zest.

Quiet streets of Matera on a winter night.

Christmas tree on the square.

Matera is certainly atmospheric.

Our candlelit room.

The next day we had breakfast in our hotel and went for a morning walk around an older part of the sassi area we hadn't walked through yet. We then checked out and drove our rental car to a viewpoint on the other side of the ravine, for a panoramic view of Matera.

A friendly cat outside our room.

This was the main area of our hotel, overlooking the ravine.

Another cat!

This is a cat loaf.

Does he look 40 now? Careful how you answer...

Matera is "Gorge-ous." ;)

A little veggie stall on the street.

This little rooster is Matera's mascot.

Overlooking the sassi.

View of Matera from the other side of the ravine.

 

Paul chilling across the gorge from Matera.

All roads lead to the cathedral!

Matera is definitely on the rise. It was the European Capital of Culture in 2019, and it seems many restaurants and shops are opening. It's still a bit off-the-beaten path though, and we highly suggest visiting! Our next stop, and home for the next two nights, was the adorable town of Alberobello.

Bari - Gateway to Puglia

After a few days in Rome, we continued David's birthday trip by catching a train to Bari, the capital of Puglia. While we've traveled through central and northern Italy, this was a new region for us and we were eager to explore the food and culture. The train was high speed from Rome to near Naples, then a bit slower the rest of the way. It still took only a little more than 4 hours to travel the 430km. Arriving in Bari, we walked about 15 minutes from the train station to our AirBnB in the historic center. Our AirBnB was very interesting! It was recessed into the bottom of an old building, with cool stone arched ceilings and a lofted bedroom. Unfortunately, the hot water wasn't working at first, but after flipping a tripped circuit breaker we were in business. 

We need high speed rail in the US!

Staying safe on the train.

It's hard to see when you're speeding by on the train, but there's some great scenery on the route.

The "new" part of Bari.

Our AirBnB was in the lower level of a building in the old town.

The bedroom was lofted near the vaulted ceiling!

Fancy-pants bathroom with stone walls in the shower.

We didn't have a ton of time in Bari, and to make matters worse it was chilly and rainy upon our arrival. We did make the most of our time, though, with a walking tour of the old town. Our first stop, just a minute or two away from our AirBnB was St. Nicholas Basilica. Yes, that St. Nicholas! Coincidentally, the day we arrived (Dec 6) was the Feast of St. Nicholas. There were many people visiting the basilica, lighting candles, and viewing the altar and relics of Santa Claus in his crypt. The Basilica of St. Nicholas was constructed between 1089 - 1197 specifically to host the relics of the saint. The people of Bari had a dispute with the Venetians about who would host the relics that resulted in pirates sailing to Venice and stealing them! We're sure this story should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's still pretty interesting.

After visiting the basilica, we wandered around in the rain (we got soaked) before stopping for lunch at La Cecchina. This was probably one of the better meals of the trip, and was a total accident to discover. The fun thing about Italian food is that it's pretty straightforward, so you can find a great meal almost anywhere without as much issue as finding good food in America. Italian food is also very regional, so food from Puglia is not the same as from Rome or Tuscany. In our previous trip to Italy, David noted that none of the food really tasted like his Dad's or Grandmother's cooking. He always just assumed his family's cooking was Americanized. Turns out, however, he just didn't go to the right spots in Italy! Needless to say, it was an emotional meal. Lunch also introduced us to Puglian primitivo wines, which we consumed by the bottle the rest of the trip!

David with St. Nicholas.

It's not your imagination - the arches in the church are a bit askew.

Lighting candles for the Feast of St. Nicholas.

The statue of St. Nick is brought up into the church for the feast day twice a year.

Bari has a very pretty corniche, but we only saw a bit due to the bad weather.

Old town was a maze of roads and buildings.

Lots of cute little piazzas, too!

Paul's lunch.

David eating orecchiette with braciole, very similar to the flavors of his grandma's cooking. 

After lunch we wandered around the old town a while more, hitting up some random street vendors for fried polenta and fig cartellate before relaxing at the AirBnB when it started to rain harder again. Since the weather was so bad, we basically stayed inside most of the rest of the afternoon before venturing out for take away sandwiches for dinner from Mastro Ciccio on the edge of the old and new cities. On our way back, in the pouring rain, we watched the tail-end of the Feast of St. Nicholas firework display, which they apparently do rain or shine.

Bell tower of the cathedral.

Fried polenta snack.

Cartellate - Puglian Christmas fried fig and reduced wine treat.

The castle at the edge of the historic center of Bari.

Another cute (and wet) square.

"Pasta street" is an area where grandmas make pasta in the street. But it was a bit empty because of the weather.

David on a quiet rainy square.

Christmas lights in a rainy alley.

St. Nicholas display at the Basilica after dark.

Sandwiches at Mastro Ciccio.

Fireworks display for the Feast of St. Nicholas.

Christmas lights in the rainy piazza.

We didn't really spend much time in Bari, but I think it's a city that probably deserved at least a full day. The old town is really cute and walkable, and we didn't visit anything in the newer part of town or any of the museums. Bari makes a really great base to visit Puglia, though, so we'd recommend you give it a bit of love. If nothing else, get some orecchiette, a bottle of primitivo wine and take a stroll along the corniche.