t The spectacular city of Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
t The spectacular city of Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Experience Basilicata and Calabria
Remote and wild, Basilicata is one of the poorest regions in Italy. It is underdeveloped and its rural areas remain largely unspoiled. Neighbouring Calabria has been immortalized in drawings by Edward Lear, who, travelling through on a donkey in 1847, was transfixed by the “horror and magnificence” of its savage landscape.
Today, these regions are distinctly separate but they share a common history and, along with Sicily and Puglia, were part of Magna Graecia. Ancient Metaponto in Basilicata was an important centre, as was Locri Epizephiri in Calabria.
After the Greeks came the Romans, followed by Basilian monks. These were members of the Greek-Byzantine church who were fleeing their territories, which had been invaded by Muslims. Their religious establishments make up a core of interesting monuments, such as the Cattolica at Stilo and Matera, where monks took refuge in caves.
Many of the historic remains are Norman, but sporadic evidence of the Swabian, Aragonese, Angevin and Spanish occupation still exists.
Nowadays, Calabria has an infamous reputation due to the ’Ndrangheta, the ferocious first cousin to the Mafia. Concerned mainly with drug trafficking, this criminal gang presents little threat to tourists.
Owing to emigration, Basilicata and Calabria are sparsely populated and have as much to offer in unspoiled countryside as in historic centres. The coastline has fine beaches, while inland are the Aspromonte and Sila mountain ranges. The remote landscape has kept change at bay. Isolated Pentedattilo, for example, preserves customs of Byzantine origin, while around San Giorgio Albanese there live close-knit communities of Albanians, descended from 15th-century refugees.