A long weekend getaway to Southern Italy, more precisely Calabria, Basilicata, and Puglia, was a perfect choice. We had 4 days off, so the first night we spent in Cosenza, the second one – in Matera. On the third day, we made a quick stop in Alberobello and spent a night in Lecce. On the fourth day we traveled back home to Catania. Below you’ll find what we found in each of these places.
What to do in Cosenza?
Cosenza was our first stop, en route to the main destination – Matera. Expectations weren’t high, despite the fact that Cosenza is proudly called the “Athens of Calabria”. This city, situated between hills, highlights a 10th century Norman castle. There are some picturesque places in the old town. However, Cosenza is far from stunning.
What actually stunned us, was their cuisine. Cosenza gastronomy is varied and influenced by the mountains of Sila. They produce, mushrooms, vegetables, meat, and grains. The dishes we ordered, were delicious, filling, and affordable.
For dinner, we ordered local table wine. The red wine was transported in a clay jug with an abnormally small glass that seemed to be a simple shot glass. Curiously, I asked our waiter if the glasses are the restaurant’s specialty, or this is a traditional Calabrian thing. Apparently, locals drink wine from mini glasses and call them “piccolino”. Literally meaning “a little one”. I looked around and saw everyone drinking from the same small glasses. When in Cosenza, act like a Cosentian.
Matera – “Town of the Sassi”
This is a city that I could write at least 5 pages about. However, nobody would read such a novel. You must see Matera to understand how beautiful and unique it is. I will put thousands of years of history, into one paragraph (good luck for me) and share some interesting facts about this magnificent place. Just to say that town of Matera is old, is not enough. Most cities and towns in Italy are considered old. This area, of what is now Matera, is believed to have been settled since the Palaeolithic (10th millennium BC) times. That makes Sassi the third-oldest continually inhabited settlement in the world (after Aleppo and Jericho). For centuries, people used to live in limestone caves with their animals. The livestock providing heat for the family.
At the same time when astronauts landed on the Moon, people still lived in the cave dwellings of Matera. With the population of the Sassi growing to around sixteen thousand people, the hygienic conditions deteriorated, turning historical places into the “Shame of the Nation” (a highlight from one, front-page article, from a national Italian newspaper). Authorities decided to force residents to leave their homes. Luckily, later on, it was decided to preserve The Sassi of Matera. It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1993.
One of the “musts” in this town is to get lost. You can walk for hours, along the maze of stone streets, and not get bored of it. Walking around it is possible to see billboards with the word “Lucano”. For example “Ristorante lucano”. I had no idea what it meant since it doesn‘t even sound similar to “Matera” or “Basilicata” (the Italian region where Matera is). One local female explained that Lucania was a historical Italian region that today is called Basilicata.
The Sassi is loved by movie directors. It has a unique setting where architecture and nature become the silent protagonists. Over 30 movies were shot there, most of them Italian ones. For the vast majority of known movies, The Passion of the Christ (2004) and James Bond: No Time to Die (2019) was shot there as well.
The fairytale of Alberobello
Just an hour away from Bari, there is a fairytale town with conical roofs. Better known as Trulli houses. I’m sure a lot of you have already heard of, or even already visited it. But do you know WHY this kind of house construction became so popular there? Well, due to locals’ imagination and a lack of willingness to pay extra money to authorities (this one is still applicable nowadays), local residents “invented” an easily constructed house. Local rulers wanted to collect money from towns’ residents but if there isn’t any town, then you can’t bill locals. The Trulli houses resemble Lego blocks – relatively easy to build, deconstruct, and move.
There are tons of tourists in Alberobello, but luckily it doesn’t take too much time to see the main highlights there. Parking lots are available right next to the main town square. We bought a ticket for two hours and that was plenty of time for us to walk around and snap some pictures. Keep in mind that the heat in the summertime might be unbearable and all that white color, from the houses, reflects straight into your eyes as snow does in winter. So don’t forget your sunglasses, otherwise most of the time you’ll walk around with half-closed eyes.
Lecce after the rain
Our last stop was in Lecce, a relatively small but very cozy old town. We rented a nice B&B near the train station. Usually, areas near the city transport stations aren’t the safest. However, this time (as all previous times) we had no problems. We wandered the city until late evening and came back to our room without anxiety. The room itself was newly remodeled. We were the first ones to stay in it!
Being a southern town, Lecce doesn’t receive much rain, especially in the summertime. But guess what? We were so “lucky” and as soon as arrived there, the rain started and basically, we lost 3 hours of sightseeing. Eventually, the rain stopped around 7 pm and we started to look for a nice dinner place and found a local restaurant called Osteria 203 that offered good sangria wine as well. Later on, we started our nighttime exploration. Even though the weather wasn’t generous for us, and in general I didn’t have massive expectations about this place, in the end, I really enjoyed Lecce and definitely recommend stopping there at least one night.
Short trip in Southern Italy in a nutshell
Itinerary: COSENZA – MATERA –ALBEROBELLO – LECCE
Day 1 Catania -Cosenza
Day 2 Cosenza-Matera
Day 3 Matera-Alberobello-Lecce
Day 4 Lecce-Catania
This kind of trip was quite intense and requires a lot of driving. The biggest focus should be placed on Matera since this city is really unique. Get a tour guide that would explain everything about Matera’s history and local customs. It won’t take too much of your time to check out Cosenza and Alberobello. Lecce, on the other hand, is a vibrant student city that can offer impressive architecture, active nightlife, and delicious food.
