Murgia national Park 14.05

What a tour and what a place. I often let the group go ahead to properly sense the feeling of this truly incredible and magnificent place. I felt as if I was in a bit of a dream. 
This Murgia is spoken about by locals with such passion and love and even the winding road up to the plateau fills you with a sense of the magic still to come.
Rather than type all the information, I was a bit lazy and copied the plaque.
Despite the 6 Italians with me on the tour complaining about the weather, I was thrilled to see some clouds, giving even more atmosphere to this already spectacular region.
The golden fields in the distance belonged to a small farm, up for sale! A little bit isolated!
I didn't catch when this house was built, but the people long ago were very clever and built their homes deep into the limestone to ensure cool in the summer and warmer in winter. The sloping rooves meant rain was channelled into cistern, a method still used today in this normally dry area of Italy.
This rock church has undergone many changes and reconstructions but dates back to 12 century and many frescoes are still visible. Once no longer used as a church, it was used by farmers as shelter.
The sun was setting. Not a perfect 'tramonto', but still stunning.
I loved these fields of barley tucked into the rocky outcrops, Matera Sassi in the background.
What an incredible landscape. Plateau, then deep ravine of about 180 metres and then the prehistoric caves of Matera.
This has to be one of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had. I am so grateful to have had the chance to visit this absolutely breathtaking place.
The guide, Claudio, was fantastic and it was very satisfying to understand so much. He talked a lot and extremely quickly. Born and bred here, he was a fountain of knowledge. In the last 40 years, his lifetime, Matera has gone from being somewhat rundown, to a place millions visit. The reconstruction of derelict stone homes is happening all over the city.. it's amazing what it must be costing.
At the end, we even got shown how to cross the road Italian style. Only tourists use the crossings. However, I prefer to continue with this rather than walk out in front of cars with my arm stretched out! 






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