We leave in the morning, after a short visit of about 36 hours. During our short time, we have left a moderate amount of money on food, a tour or two, some gratuities towards random musicians, staff, blind people, and church lights. It’s the way of it, right? We’ve walked a decent amount of steps, on stone pavers mostly, hoping to keep our footing on stone stairs that are connectors throughout the town.
About Matera. This is, as I said – OLD. But parts of it are relatively new-ish. We are in the old part, deliberately. Today, we fit in a tour of the old sassi, the oldest part, and got to go into an actual cave house. The difference between hearing and reading about this, is that now, after the hands on experience, it is breathable real to me, as it was just information. We heard about the space, but when we saw it, I realized that it was dark, gloomy, smokey, haunted by disease and cholera, living ass by cheek with the pig and donkey, who was tied to the marital bed, due to the donkey’s value. They had a manure room where the shit was shoveled, the chickens lived under the bed, a water cistern area brought in some rainwater, with luck, a little mill, and a bedroom – all connected. Your neighbors were walking on your roof, and you on someone else’s ceiling. In the mix are now a dozen children, only some of whom will live to adulthood, due to those same medical limitations, and added to that a infant mortality rate of over 40%. It was a woman’s courage that allowed her to tempt life and death to give birth. From womb to tomb could be a short line.
While we’ve been gone, those properties that I manage have been handled by son Tim- who is great with clear, specific and careful details. Of course, while “it’ll be easy,” she said, and “You shouldn’t have any trouble”, she also prognosticated , the tenants are usually just great, nice people and seldom should there by any changes at this time of the year.” She repeated.
Well the hoodoo that came upon us, brought chaos and a storm of activity that taxed everyone completely. It is hard to be out of touch, but Tim is, no doubt, better equipped and informed than he ever wanted to be. “No good deed goes unpunished,” she thinks.
We leave, and arrange to work the parking that is at a premium here, by switching our car for the owners’ father’s car, done quickly and carefully, with other autos hoping for a miracle in the street just in case.
Before we take our leave of Matera, we finally get to participate in the movie, and home tour we wanted. As always, it was a difficult story of a shameful past- they tell me the decisive turn of the public eye came with the book “Christ stopped at Ebola” I’ve not read it, though now I will. This is a place that calls for a second trip.
We again pile into the car, our clown car filled with Lavezzi Americani headed to Alberobello, and a one night stay at a Trullo before we say goodbye to brother Bill, who is no doubt eager to return to his lovely bride and routine. We hope your Wednesday – is it really Wednesday? – is a fine hump day for you.