Italy – Basilicata and Calabria Regions

Last week, we visited southern Italy, exploring the regions of Basilicata and Calabria. As usual, we traveled by our van. We spent the entire first day driving and reached our destination, the city of Matera, in the evening. After finding a parking lot where we could also sleep, we went on an evening tour of the city, which immediately fascinated us.

The next morning, we explored the city and its surroundings once again. Matera is known for its ancient cave dwellings and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The city is divided into two parts: the old town, known as the Sassi, where the caves are located, and the modern part of the city.

Prejšnji teden sva obiskala južno Italijo in raziskovala regiji Basilicata in Kalabrija. Kot običajno sva potovala z najinim kombijem Prvi dan sva v celoti preživela na poti in zvečer prispela na cilj, v mesto Matera. Ko sva našla parkirišče, kjer sva lahko tudi prespala, sva se odpravila na večerni ogled mesta, ki naju je takoj očaralo.

Naslednje jutro sva znova raziskovala mesto in okolico. Matera je znana po svojih starodavnih jamah in velja za eno najstarejših neprekinjeno naseljenih mest na svetu. Mesto je razdeljeno na dva dela: staro mestno jedro, imenovano Sassi, kjer se nahajajo jame, in sodobni del mesta.

After a short visit to the villages of Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano, we headed towards the abandoned village of Craco and spent the night nearby. Calabria and Basilicata have several abandoned places, small towns perched on hills, But once people lived there, they worked, loved, lought, cried and their stories are worth exploring. So, the story of Craco is coming in the next post.

Po krajšem obisku vasic Pietrapertosa in Castelmezzano sva se odpravila proti zapuščeni vasi Craco in v bližini prenočili. V regijah Kalabrija in Basilicata je več zapuščenih krajev, majhnih vasic na hribih. Nekoč so tam živeli ljudje, delali, se imeli radi, se smejali in jokali,... Njihove zgodbe so tiste, ki so naju pritegnile. Zgodba o Cracu sledi v naslednji objavi.

Continuing towards the coast, we stopped at Rocca Imperiale, which is famous for its lemons and oranges. Gorgeous trees everywhere!

Na poti proti obali sva se ustavila v Rocca Imperiale, ki je znana po limonah in pomarančah. Oh, ta čudovita drevesa vsepovsod!

Le Castella is located near the sea and is known for its fortress, which, unfortunately, was closed during our visit.

Le Castella leži ob morju in je znana po svoji trdnjavi, ki pa je bila ob najinem obisku žal zaprta.

Our next stop was Stilo. Sadly, the Church of Cattolica was closed due to renovation works. However, the town itself is impressive, as we discovered during our walk.

Naslednja postaja je bila Stilo. Žal je bila cerkev Cattolica zaprta zaradi obnovitvenih del. Mesto sva tako občudovala med sprehodom.

Next, we visited the Calanchi Bianchi di Palizzi, a place near the sea that actually looks like the moon! And it's always open and free to enter.

Nato sva obiskala Calanchi Bianchi di Palizzi, kraj ob morju, ki pravzaprav izgleda kot luna. Vedno je odprt in brezplačen za obisk.

Despite a foggy morning, we managed to see Mount Etna covered with snow and smoke rising from the summit. It's not a great picture, but the volcano in the distance.

Kljub meglenemu jutru sva uspela videti Etno, prekrito s snegom, iz njenega vrha se je kadilo. Slika ni najboljša, ampak v ozadju je vulkan.

The village of Bova is located in the Aspromonte National Park and is home to the Greek community of Calabria. An old steam locomotive greets visitors at the village entrance. Bova is also a great starting point for hiking or cycling. We stayed here for two days, hiked up Monte Grosso, watched the May 1st celebrations in the main square, and walked to the abandoned village of Africo Vecchio (more on that in the next post). Ascending from Bova to the mountain pass, we enjoyed watching and photographing the flowering mountain slopes. This is why spring is the best time to visit southern Italy. 

Vasica Bova se nahaja v Narodnem parku Aspromonte in je dom grške skupnosti v Kalabriji. Stara parna lokomotiva pozdravi obiskovalce ob vhodu v vas. Bova je tudi odlično izhodišče za pohodništvo ali kolesarjenje. Tam sva ostala dva dni, se povzpela na Monte Grosso, opazovala praznovanja prvega maja na glavnem trgu in se sprehodila do zapuščene vasi Africo Vecchio (več o tem v naslednji objavi). Ob vzponu iz Bove proti gorskemu prelazu sva uživala ob opazovanju in fotografiranju cvetočih gorskih pobočij. Ja, zato je pomlad najboljši čas za obisk južne Italije. 

The hike from Bova to Africo Vecchio and back took us about five to six hours. More about that adventure is coming in the next post. 

Za pohod od Bove do Africa Vecchio in nazaj sva potrebovala približno pet do šest ur. Več o tem sledi v naslednji objavi.

Pentedattilo is another ghost town in the mountains. More about it in the following post.

Pentedattilo je še eno mesto duhov v gorah, več v sledeči objavi.

We left the mountain villages and drove to the coast. There, the towns were crowded, parking was hard to find, and words like “mystical” and “quiet” were replaced with “commercial,” “busy,” and “noisy.” Just a quick stop near the beach at Capo Vaticano.

Zapustila sva gorske vasice in se odpeljala proti obali. Tam so bila mesta polna ljudi, parkirišč je bilo malo, in besede kot “mistično” in “mirno” so zamenjale “komercialno”, “zasedeno” in “hrupno”. Hiter postanek ob plaži pri Capo Vaticano.

Tropea is known for the small church of Santa Maria dell’Isola. We visited the island, explored the town, and spent the night there. The following day, we discovered a lovely garden center where we bought a lime and a lemon plant to bring home. We live in the Alps, it’s not so warm here, but I simply love plants.

Tropea je znana po cerkvici Santa Maria dell’Isola. Obiskala sva otok, raziskala mesto in tam prenočila. Naslednji dan sva odkrila čudovit vrtnarski center, kjer sva kupila limeto in limon. Ker živimo v Alpah, pri nas ni tako toplo, a jaz sem ju preprosto morala vzeti domov.

Pizzo was the last city we visited before heading home. There, we saw the little Church of Piedigrotta, carved right into the rock. According to legend, during a violent storm in 1665, a ship was about to crash against the cliffs of Pizzo. The crew and captain prayed to a painting of the Madonna on board and agreed to build a church in her honor if they survived. The ship sank, but the crew survived and landed on a nearby beach, along with the painting and the ship’s bell. They kept their promise and carved a small church into the rock at the site. Later, the local artist Angelo Barone dedicated years of his life to developing the Piedigrotta Church. After his death, his son Alfonso continued the work. Unfortunately, the church was vandalized after Alfonso's death but was later restored. 

Pizzo je bilo zadnje mesto, ki smo ga obiskali pred odhodom domov. Tam smo si ogledali očarljivo cerkev Piedigrotta, vklesano naravnost v skalo. Po legendi je leta 1665 med silovitim neurjem ladja skoraj nasedla na pečine pri Pizzu. Posadka in kapitan so molili k sliki Marije na krovu in obljubili, da bodo v njeno čast zgradili cerkev, če preživijo. Ladja je potonila, a posadka je preživela in skupaj s sliko in ladijskim zvonom pristala na bližnji plaži. Svojo obljubo so izpolnili in v skalo izklesali majhno cerkev. Kasneje je lokalni umetnik Angelo Barone posvetil leta svojega življenja razvoju cerkve Piedigrotta. Po njegovi smrti je delo nadaljeval njegov sin Alfonso. Cerkev je bila po Alfonsovi smrti vandalizirana, a kasneje obnovljena.

It was a wonderful week, discovering interesting, new, and forgotten places in southern Italy with our little van.

Bil je čudovit teden, poln odkrivanja zanimivih, novih in pozabljenih krajev v južni Italiji z našim malim kombijem.