Basilicata: the silent beauty of the south of Italy
A silent place that even Italians don’t know very well. Big like one-third of the Belgium and with the same population of Venice this place has magic, history and a charm that will seduce you from the day one.
Basilicata is the place were I came from. The place where I was born. The place that has shaped my sense of beauty. It’s the only place on earth that I always felt like “home”. And probably it is the last place where people choose to go on holidays when you say “Italy”. What is following is my explanation of why this idea is wrong.
I’ve lived out of my region half of my life and I had many difficulties to find someone who really knew it. I met people who think that “Lucania” and “Basilicata” are two different regions. I met people who believe that Matera is in Calabria, Puglia or Molise. I met people who believe that in the center of the boot, between the heel and the tip, there isn’t nothing interesting. The sad thing is that most of them are Italians.
Let me start with a strong statement: Basilicata exist.
It’s the only Italian region with two names that identify the same territory. Lucania, in fact, was its official name from 1932 to 1947, a name which is still there and that people from this region (Lucani) loves.
A great thinker from this region, Francesco Saverio Nitti, Italian Prime Minister in the 1919 and 1920, tells in one of his books a scene that after 100 years still happen:
“What name has the land where you were born?” Asked me an old lady who, in her younger years, was been in the South of Italy. “I’m from Naples,” I replied. “Right in Naples?”. “No, from a land even more southern, Basilicata.” I noticed that the name seemed new and I wanted to clarify. “It’s a land” I said “very big, one-third of Belgium, about the size of Montenegro without flourishing cities or industries. The countryside is sad and the people are poor. It is bordered by two seas and both has very melancholy coastal; all around there are Puglia, Calabria and the Principalities”. The names of these lands produced a certain impression because my interlocutor didn’t make me finish. “Yours” he said, “if it’s between Calabria and Puglia, is the country of the brigands”.
An encyclopedic definition would define the Brigantaggio a form of social and political uprising started in the South of Italy between the process of the Italian unification and the first decade of the new Kingdom. The authors of the resistance were, in fact, defined in a derogatory sense, brigands by the Royal Army: in other words, outlaw. They were what today we use to call resistance.
Have you ever heard about Carmine Crocco, Nicola Napolitano, Ninco Nanco, Giuseppe Caruso, Michelina Di Cesare, Antonio Locaso, Luigi Alonzi or Damiano Vellucci?
The names of these persons are still remembered in the stories and folk songs of this lands. These names reverberate between dolomites and the Vulture and they are names that many remember with nostalgia. Yes, because what for the Royal Army was an outlaw, for many it was a friends of the commonalty, for which they fought and died. They were part of the same people.
Carmine Crocco, the well known and most feared Brigands, once wrote:
“And around us the fear and the complicity of a people. That people who, despised by Royal Officials and treacherous people from Piedmont, felt strong on the skin that we were denied all rights, the dignity of men. And who could avenge them if not us, with whom we share the same fate? We peasants, no longer willing to bow the head. Trampled, as the grass by the horses’ hooves. Trampled we called revenge. Many, many have deluded they can use us to use for revolutions. Their revolutions. But freedom is not a change of masters. It is not an empty and abstract word. It means to say without fear “it is mine!” and feel strong ownership of something, starting from the soul. It is living with what you love. Rushing mighty wind, in every generation reborn. So it was, and it always will be … “
Although old, this story is about what these people are, tells the nature of the people from this Region.
That love for their land, for their people, to their own traditions, for work, humility, that strong character, joyful and melancholic in the same time, quiet and a resigned, stubborn nut sensible, is still the common trait of the people of this region. We are so. And we are proud of it.
Telling the story of Basilicata would mean to tell the history of mankind. In Matera, for example, there are traces of human habitation since the Paleolithic age. This means that here there’s a human presence from about 1.5 million years. You can understand that 1.5 million years is long enough to be able to overturn hundreds of times a territory, especially if you think about all the invaders that have taken place during these centuries in these area.
But if you decide to take a ride in Basilicata, you would have the opposite feeling. Most part of the region is exactly as you would have found hundreds of years ago. Ninethousandninehundredandninetytwo km² of completely heterogeneous and untouched landscapes, where the human presence is almost absent. Yeah.
Let me show you a simple example. Do you know Venice? Of course you do. Well, the Venice population is numerically comparable to the entire population of this region, but in this case is spread to nearly ten thousand square miles that define the regional boundaries. So, when you’ll travel through the Lucanian roads, you must be careful, because between lunar landscapes, impenetrable mountains, endless wheat fields, valleys full of olive trees, huge dams or long and desert beaches, you will find -or more likely you’ll have to go look for- a cluster of yellowish lights on top of some hill. That’s the signal that you have found one of 131 Basilicata municipalities, 120 of which under 10,000 inhabitants. It is not a coincidence that once this was the land of forests and wolves.
The night here is magical. It’s the kingdom of silence and deep dark, occasionally interrupted by these agglomerations of light in the distance. Be on a road any summer night means being in the middle of nowhere, guided by the light of the moon, and the crickets and cicadas singing. During the day, however, along the same streets, what you can not see in the night turns into a series of differents and heterogeneous scenarios.
This difference is primarily due to the strong landscape differences that the region offers. 46.8% of the territory, in fact, is mountainous, 45.1% is hilly and only 8% is flat, with two views on two different seas: the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. The coasts of the Ionian sea is low and sandy, while those of the Tyrrhenian sea is high and rocky. So you have, in a few hours drive, the ability to travel far and wide for the region and discover every minute something new.
Basilicata has a great environmental diversity and is sub-divided into five different areas different from each other for the fauna, flora and climate. Each of these zones hides secrets and wonderful landscapes.
Vulture
The Vulture Mount is a large caldera, occupied in the inside by the small lakes of Monticchio. Its slopes are covered by the vines cultivations because this is the land of one of the oldest e most famous Italian wines: Aglianico del Vulture. Here you can also find chestnut trees for firewood or fruit. The two Monticchio Lakes are actually two craters filled with water. The whole area has volcanic origin and this history allowed the vegetation to create a beautiful and unspoiled environment from which flows much of the mineral water you can find on the italian tables. In these part of the region, if you are lucky enough, you might encounter the mysterious European Bramea : a unique butterfly that flickers during the winter nights only for a very short period of time, which makes every sighting unique and exceptional.
To understand the Melfi and the Vulture area morphology, you should watch the awards winning and Oscar nominees movies “Io non ho Paura” (“I’m not scared”) from the Academy Award-winning director Gabriele Salvatores.
If you are here you can not lose a jump in Venosa, the town of Quinto Orazio Flacco (Horace), one of the most distinguished poets of antiquity. Venosa is one of the town of this region that with Acerenza, Castelmezzano and Guardia Perticara was mentioned as one of the 37 most beautiful villages in Italy. It is characterized by a large archaeological park with the ruins of the roman city (with the Amphitheatre and the thermal baths), the medieval city (christian churches and castle) and the charming unfinished church built using waste roman material, with Latin and Jewish inscriptions and various other ornaments. Not so far Acerenza is located. Another village defined “one of the most beautiful villages in Italy” characterized by the landscape, but also by its cathedral, a site with origins dating back before the Romans. This is why Acerenza is a place covered by the mystery, a fascinating place that many believe to have been one of the most important sites of the ancient world. The latest findings in the cathedral has revived some rumors that in this cathedral is guarded the Holy Grail.
It’s not a coincidence that someone is convinced that the Basilicata name derives from the number of churches (Basiliche) built in this area that the ancient Crusaders used as a basis for arrival and departure to the holy land. The name Basilicata actually appears in the thirteenth century. It comes from the greek Basilikos, by which is called the Byzantine rulers of the region. Basilikos in greek means “Servant of the King” and comes from another greek word: Basileus (King). Another hypothesis, not accredited, is linked to the Byzantine Emperor Basil II of Byzantium.
Returning to Acerenza and its mystery, there is another recent event that has contributed to revamp these rumors. The discovery of a Leonardo Da Vinci portrait dates back to the sixteenth century that, although in a different era, helps to keep up the mystery. Moreover if you think about it, just before, a very famous person was staying regularly in these lands: Frederick II, Duke of Swabia who was king of Sicily, King of Jerusalem, Emperor of the Romans, King of Italy and King of Germany. Everyone knows his quadrangular castle in Castel del Monte, but few know that right in Vulture, Frederick spent his days hunting. And in the castle of Melfi was written and enacted the Constitutiones Augustales (also known as the Constitutions of Melfi), code of laws of the Sicily kingdom, founded on Roman and Norman law, one of the greatest works in the history of law.
Dolomiti lucane
If we move a bit more in the north-west we’ll be catapulted into one of the most fascinating landscape of the south of Italy: the Dolomiti Lucane. Around here is a must visit Castelmezzano, a surreal place where you’ll lose the breath in several occasions.
From the houses, the balconies and the squares of this town perched on the peaks of the dolomites, the scene is breathtaking, but it is also amazing the road that you have to take reach the nearby village of Pietrapertosa. A path so “ethereal” that was renamed “the Angel’s flight” (Il volo dell’Angelo).
What’s this? Let me explain. There are two villages at a mile and a half away from each other. The first one, Pietrapertosa, is at 888 meters above sea level and the second one, Castelmezzano at 1019 meters. The residents, however, had a problem. Both are perched on two crests, separated by a 130 meters chasm. How can you get to the other side quickly? Simple. Take a steel cable, pull it in order to connect the two villages and then you throw in like a bullet strung across an evolved pulley.
You will reach 120Km/h (75 Mph) and drive along almost 1452 meters in one minute, during which your heart will rise in your throat and you’ll miss the breath. The facility is open from June to September for obvious security reasons. The experience is unique.
Very picturesque is the traditional celebration of “May”, the annual sacrifice of a large tree, reminiscent of an ancient fertility cult typical of mountainous areas. Don’t miss the Tursi’s Rabatana (the Arab Quarter) and the unique wooden statues preserved in Castelmezzano.
If you want to discover the true story of the brigands, or spend a day in the nature with the falconers, between Matera and Potenza you will enjoy one of the largest outdoor and picturesque theater in Europe. I’m talking about Brindisi di Montagna and the Grancia park.
The whole town is part the show or assists in the preparation and management of the evenings. The central character is Carmine Crocco (voiced by Michele Placido), that telling his human, social and political uprising of which he was the protagonist, gives voice to the yearning for social redemption, demand for dignity and freedom for his people, the people of the peasants, who despised and humiliated, betrayed and disappointed by the false promises, rises up and fights for freedom.
Before the show, there are many activities you can do in the near forest, like enjoy the skill of the trainers of griffon vultures, hawks and nocturnal birds of all kinds.
Lagonegrese, Pollino and Val d’Agri
If you go down in the south-west, the Dolomites will become real mountains with peaks that reach up to 2000 meters. Few people know that the Pollino National Park, situated between Calabria and Basilicata, in the province of Cosenza, Matera and Potenza, with over 182,000 hectares, is the largest natural park in Italy and is a true paradise on earth. The Park includes a total of 56 municipalities, 32 of the 24 of Basilicata and Calabria.
The symbol of the park is the famous Pine Loricato, rare species (found only here and in the Balkans), which fits most difficult habitats where other species (beech in particular) are not able to survive. Among the villages in the Basilicata side of the park with historical and archaeological interest: Viggianello, Rotonda, Castrovillari, Morano Calabro, Laino Borgo, Mormanno, Papasidero. Others are important from a socio-cultural point of view, because there are very old Albanian communities who settled in the region of Basilicata and Calabria between 1470 and 1540: San Paolo Albanese, San Costantino Albanese, San Basile, Lungro, Plataci, Frascineto, Civita.
During winter it is one of the main tourist centers of south-central Italy where you can ski.
The beauty of the landscape between marine and mountain is the characteristic landscape of the villages that fall within the Valley of the Noce river, the Lagonegrese (from Lagonegro, a village in the zone).
The scenario is a close contact between the southern Lucania Apennine ridge and the Maratea coast of the Gulf of Policastro. The Apennine mountains, for the most part, are covered with dense forests of oak and chestnut trees. The peaks, such as the group of Sirino, have numerous springs that feed the rivers Agri and Volturno.
Here the scenery is heavenly, especially if you move towards the views of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Through beautiful mountain scenery you’ll find yourself on the coast, with 1500 meters cliffs, such as those of Monte di Coccovello.
Indro Montanelli described well this piece of the Italian coast:
Maybe in Italy there isn’t most superb scenery or landscape. Imagine dozens and dozens of miles of jagged cliff of caves, rocks, overhangs and gentle beaches in front of the most spectacular sea, now gaping and open, now closed as sparse small docks.
Single municipality of Basilicata that appear on this stretch of 32 km of coast is Maratea. Cesare Pavese described it in this way:
It is a wonderful village…magnificent…there is no other place I know that is valid in me like this that you see. The colors especially…colors are primordial.
Maratea is famous for its sea, but it is equally famous for its Christ the Redeemer with his 22.10 meters, built on the top of Mount San Biagio at 640 meters above sea level. The massive work became in 1965 the second in the world after the one in Rio De Janeiro and is visible from all the Gulf of Policastro.
Basilicata has bad relationship with infrastructure. Although there are many buses and some train, the best way to get around is by car or motorbike.
Despite this, to drive for main and provincial roads of Basilicata (there are almost no highways) can become a vehicle for discovery and suggestion. There are many avenues that you should walk at a slow pace, just to enjoy the landscapes. Stops from time to time may be the quintessence of discovery.
One of these roads is definitely the SS 653, also known as Sinnica (from the Sinni River as the Basentana for Basento river and Bradanica for the Bradano river). During all these roads you will find a river next to the whole street. These roads will take you to the famous SS 106, also known as the Ionian roads.
The Sinnica is a magnificent road that connects the two Basilicata coasts, but is able to offer, in the middle, absolutely heterogeneous landscapes. If you start from Maratea, you’ll immediately leave the sea behind and soon you’ll begin to confront major climbs and curves that will take you to Lauria. From there, up to Latronico, the path will become more and more linear, giving you unspoilt and charm high hill and mountain landscapes. Green is the dominant color, often approached to large rock masses. From Francavilla sul Sinni onwards, the path begins to be dyed with blue. You will find yourself on Monte Cotugno dam. This dam is located near Senise, and is the largest dam in Europe built in rammed earth. The river water is collected in order to be used for agricultural, industrial and drinking water. The wall that forms the dam, which has a maximum capacity of 530 million cubic meters, is about 1850 mt long, 60 mt high and 260 mt wide at the base.
From here the distance from Policoro is very short and there you’ll find a completely different coastal landscape. But we’ll be there in a while.
Another astonishing dam is the Pertusillo, built near Montemurro. The dam covers an area of 75 square kilometers, the gravity arch dam is 380 meters long and 95 meters high. Pass or stop near of the barrier is really evocative. The artificial cliff almost 100 meters makes its effect. Its building has given birth to a 155 million cubic meters of water reservoir, becoming one of the starting points of the modern Apulian Aqueduct.
The Pertusillo is certainly the most fascinating of the all the South of Italy, with the difference that among many Italian lakes, this is one of those lesser-known but with a unique morphology and first level wealth of flora and fauna. It is not rare to find on the shores of this lake the heron Ardea cinerea Linnaeus.
Another road that I particularly like is the SS655 Bradanica, the road that connects Melfi and Matera. If you pass during the spring you’ll be surrounded by colors and scents, while the silence will escort you along the way. Along the Bradanica you’ll be remember the Tuscany. The gentle hills, fields of poppies and wheat crops will be your traveling companions. Around Melfi, however, is not difficult to notice some wind farm and a large industrial complex: FIAT. That, in its way, deserves to be seen: it is a rare “monument” to see in these part of Italy. But now let’s go back to Val d’agri that, as we have seen, is the bridge to the Ionian Sea.
Piana di Metaponto
If in the western side the mountains meet the sea offering breathtaking scenery, on the Ionian coast, the situation is very different. The Ionian coast of Basilicata is flat, separated from the hinterland by the typical vegetation of the Mediterranean Sea, the maritime pinewoods and numerous dunes, dividing the cultivated land from the wide and sandy beaches.
These coasts are a true paradise for lovers of sun and tranquility. Walking on these beaches in fact, won’t be difficult from time to time, to find some tourist village with s catchy name that, hidden in the vegetation, divides the various coastal countries. If you are around here you can not stop in Marina di Pisticci, where, slightly inland, there’s a beautiful riding in which you can ask to do group rides on the beach. The route will take you inside the vegetation and will continue on the beach where, if you are experienced, you can ask to do a ride from the poetic taste.
Continuing westward you’ll arriving in Metaponto. Metaponto stands on the plain whose the city itself gives the name, Metapontino, the land between the Bradano and Basento river. This town, now a popular tourist destination for families, has a story worthy of the tales of Homer. Take a look here if you don’t believe me.
We are in the middle of ancient history. There are tangible signs of the archaeological area of Metaponto, not far from the modern village. The archaeological area, with its ruins and the very famous Tavole Palatine, the famous temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Hera and the National Archaeological Museum of Metaponto. Do you remember Pythagoras? Well he ived and died here.
Until the Fascist period, the plain of Metaponto was a swamp. With the reclamation of the area, the plan come back to life bringing the most succulent fruits of the fertile land of Metaponto. Inland is not difficult to cross over vast expanses of fruit trees including apricots, peaches, oranges, mandarins or lemons, separated occasionally by countless productions of strawberries and melons of all kinds.
The Matera district
From Metaponto to Matera the scenario will change once again. If your destination is Matera and if you’re here, I highly recommend to stretch a little bit and take a break around Pisticci. You can get there by taking the SS 407 Basentana. Leave the main road at Pisticci and drive to Craco.
Along the way, you’ll be sure to comment on the landscape that surrounds you because you won’t be able to think that you just landed to the lunar surface. You will be surrounded by “Calanchi”, the product of geomorphological landscapes evolution where the absence of a protective and stabilizing vegetation cover, exposes the underlying erodible soils that are so deeply etched by water surface runoff, producing incisions separated by ridges to shaped knife, easily fragmented. The landscape of the Calanchi climate is typical of arid and semi-arid environments. The local governments are working to makes this area a protected and valued natural park. Nothing, some times, can take many fascinating forms.
But the landscape you wi’ll see is just a part of what awaits you.
By climbing to Craco you’ll end up in one of the most magical place in Italy. You’ll end up in one of the ghost towns of Italy.
Due to a large-scale landslide in 1963 Craco was evacuated and the town moved to the valley in the new Craco Peschiera. At that time the center had more than 2,000 inhabitants. The landslide, which forced the population to abound their homes, seems to have been provoked by works of infrastructure, sewer and water systems serving the town.
Since then, Craco was intact, becoming a sort of ghost town. A rare and unique case. If you’re lucky enough to enter into the old town, you can walk the streets and take a look to the poor peasant and pastoral houses or the richest and noble buildings now put on par with the sign of the time and the empty silence that surrounds in their rooms.
The beauty and magic of this place, the view of the surrounding landscape, the ghostly silence, the colors and the intense perfumes of the territory, fell in love with many people. Among these many directors and writers, in this uninhabited country, have filmed many films or parts. Let me quote just a few: La Lupa, King David, Scorched Earth, The Nativity Story, The Passion of the Christ, 007 — Quantum of Solace (also shot in Maratea).
From Caco, returning to the Basentana towards Matera, you can stop in the ancient Troilia, today known as Ferrandina. The roots of Ferrandina rooted in Ancient Greece, around 1000 BC. His name was Troilia, while its acropolis-fortress called Obelanon (Uggiano). Troilia was built to remember and honor the destroyed city of Troy. During the Roman Era, Troilia and Obelanon were important centers for the hellenic culture and even more luster acquired during the Byzantine era. With the fall of the greek domain, Lombards and Normans took possession of the city.
The landscape of Ferrandina is very characteristic. The houses built on the side of the mountain, with whose facades, seem to form a vertical wall and remember Portugal.
Well-known, even today, is the olives production. With Majatica, characterized by low acidity, a sweet taste and the yellow color the extra virgin olive oil is part of an ancient tradition around here. Black baked olives of Ferrandina are one of the main typical products of Basilicata and (along with other products) are insered in the Slow Food lists.
Matera
Being in front of the old town is breathtaking, even for those who are watching this show for decades. Matera has been defined in a lot of ways, described in dozens of books, recovery in over 60 movies.
It’s a so unique show that it’s really hard to find words to describe it. Let’s start with a wikipedia definition:
Known as “la Città Sotterranea” (the Subterranean City), Matera is well known for its historical center called “Sassi”, consideredWorld Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1993, along with the Park of the Rupestrian Churches.
Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the “Sassi di Matera” (meaning “stones of Matera”). The Sassi originate from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy. The Sassi are houses dug into the calcareous rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Apulia. Many of these “houses” are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often are located on the rooftops of other houses. The ancient town grew in height on one slope of the ravine created by a river that is now a small stream. The ravine is known locally as “la Gravina”. In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city.
Until the late 1980s this was considered an area of poverty, since these houses were, and in most areas still are, mostly unlivable. Current local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and has promoted the re-generation of the Sassi with the aid of the Italian government, UNESCO, and Hollywood. Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs, and hotels.
In a distant past, at dusk, at the sound of a trumpet all the people of Matera, used to put a candle in front of their homes. The natural and exceptional perspective of the city appeared studded with so many twinkling lights, that someone called her the mirror of the starry sky.
The Sassi are the ancient urban center of Matera. They’re very suggestive and together they appear as a chaotic sequence of alleys and houses.
They are divided into two parts: the Sasso Caveoso, for the most part made up of caves, and the Sasso Barisano made up of masonry houses. An important characteristic is the intricate system of canals and tanks aimed at collecting and making rainwater available.
In the Sassi there are lots of rock churches different from one another for their artistic and architectural characteristics: some of them are completely carved into the rock, such as Santa Lucia alle Malve in the Sasso Caveoso, others carved into the rock, with only a masonry façade, such as San Pietro Barisano, others are completely built, such as San Pietro Caveoso.
A poet and writer, in the XVII century wrote:
In Matera the dead are above the alive. The deceasedon the roofs, above the stars and lights. Trails of a meteor hovering over a pile of rocks, orchestra of the silence of the Sassi. From Barisano to Caveoso through Piazza Sedile and Civita. Breathe life of freedom in the crown of an ox and fertility. Stranger blind and indolent, Open your eyes on Gravina, but do not turn your back to the surmounting city. You’d be crazy if you define it as a ghost town, a dead city. Remember, In Matera the dead are above the alive. Let you soothed by Duni through Levi and Guerricchio and admires the meteor in the balance between Hell and Heaven.
Be here is a true experience where your soul will join to the mother nature and with yourself. Its a unique place where you can conciliate with the world. And this is why this place is so magic.
Matera deserve more attention than this, this is why I’ll write about this city in the future.
Food & Wine
Basilicata is a land that should be enjoyed in all its complexity and so also with his food.
It’s a kitchen made with land products and strong flavors: essential ingredients (vegetables, legumes, livestock), the traditional manufacturing (oil of olive E.V.O., home-made pasta) but also capable of projecting you over time and space.
Aglianico del Vulture, even before the Gaetano Cappelli’s bestseller and the New York Times reviews by Eric Asimov, is an ancient vine, rediscovered and revived in recent years on a global scale.
The food in Basilicata is a pleasure at table that talks about the relationship with the territories: the Senise’s Peppers, the Rotonda’s eggplant, the Sarconi’s beans, the Moliterno’s Canestrato, the Filiano’s Pecorino, the Picerno and Cancellara’s sausages, the Ferrandina’s olives. It’s in the list of names and places that a conscious traveler can see under the eyes the whole map of the region.
Cicerone, Marziale, Marrone sing the praises of a particular sausage called “lucanica” or “luganega”. Over time, simple tastes and flavors of the rural world (collected also in the Rocco Scotellaro’s poems) become popular and delicious gastronomy, always mindful of traditions and customs and also subject of historical research on the pure italian taste. Natural ingredients, such as black and red pepper, here confers aromas to the Soppressata and the Salsiccia Pezzente. The pasta, handmade with wheat flour, salt and water in many varieties and forms: fusilli, lagane (who cooked with chickpeas were defined as the “dish of the brigands”), of which even the ancient greeks were greedy. Then cavatelli, calzoni, orecchiette, strascinati conditi and for the delight of the palate, served with meat sauce made with lamb, pork and goat meat or surrounded by the famous Sarconi’s beans.
Never miss on the table, his majesty the bread, made of wheat flour and baked in wood-fired ovens. Immediately beside each diner can choose from a varieties of cheese of which the area is generous and still made with the traditional methods: ricotta, mozzarella, scamorza, pecorino, manteca, provola, caciocavallo, cacioricotta, burrino. An explosion of flavor in your mouth. Picturesque are the Peperoni Cruschi’s necklaces, red and sweet pepers dried in the sun. And it’s impossible not to try the king of the poor dishes: fave e cicorie (fava beans and chicory).
You understand that we are in the realm of fine Mediterranean cuisine. Fresh and organic product, made according to ancient traditions, are present in every village in which you will pass. It’s hard to find a tavern or a restaurant where you’ll eat badly. The quality of the products of Basilicata is so high that you can be allowed to spoil extraordinary things without processing anything. Simplicity is the only secret. This is the main feature of the Mediterranean cuisine.
Food and wine, as Matera, deserve a dedicated chapter and I will talk about in future.
Conclusions
Italy is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but while the classic destinations are the first choice of tourist from around the world, Basilicata is like a secret coffer where you will find the essence of the true Italian culture. The extreme simplicity made by flavors, landscapes, smells, genuine people and peace.
It’s difficult leave this part of Italy and have no nostalgia. Francis Ford Coppola, for example, spends much of his time in the resort he built in Bernalda, the place from which his family originated.
If you are looking for a true Italian experience, full of Mediterranean taste and peace, Basilicata is definitely your next destination.
