L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 4 Knocking on Italy's door: Spotlight on Basilicata's local identity A beautiful article appeared a w hile back on the renowned pages of the N ew Y ork Times . It w as an incredibly entertaining and informative account of the author's voyage to one of Italy least known cor- ner, Basilicata, a region mostly associated to the ageless Matera, UNESCO Heritage Site, vivid cinematographic set - it's the town appearing in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and L'U o mo delle S telle by Giuseppe Tornatore - and soon- to-be European Capital of Cul- ture. Well, in this charming piece, two things strike incredibly the reader: the first, of course, is the beauty of the land explored; the second is how its people appear not to be particularly pleased by the extra attention - and touristic influx - brought by the region's more than justified, but rather sudden, popularity. There is a lot to discuss, here, so it's better to get going. Basilicata is special. Basilica- ta is like Piemonte used to be up to 20 or 30 years ago: filled to the brim with riches and beauty that almost no one but locals and fine connoisseurs know about. Once upon a time, Basilicata was the heart of Magna Graecia, a land made of rocky hills and a s lice of s ea, of rough, s un drenched mountains and winding little roads joining one village to the other like a chalk-colored ribbon dipped in light. No won- ders the Greeks wanted it and made it theirs : it mus t have reminded them s o much of home. They enjoyed a florid life here, the Greeks, dictated by the rhythm of a bountiful land and punctuated by the creation of their own urban posts, Metapon- tion (today's M etaponto, of course) above them all. And still today, we can glance into what their life may have been like there, if we visit the Tavole Pala- tine, where the ancient temple of Hera stands, or Metaponto's Archaeological Park, beautifully located on the Gulf of Taranto: here, amazingly, the structure and planimetry of the ancient city are still visible, its streets, its canal leading to the sea and its agora. A thriving hub of activity, was Metaponto, but its people, in typical Greek style, had time and love to spare for the arts and for spirituality, as the remains of a theater and of a once majestic Apollonian temple show. Nature provides a perfectly beautiful backdrop to the Greek world of Basilicata, with the deep blue waters of the Ionian sea gracing both Metaponto and Policoro, just a stone's throw away, along the 20 miles long regional coastline. But the sea and the beaches of Basilicata are different, surrounded as they are by pinewoods and eucalyptus, their deep green melting away against the sky and their heady scent sending coolness down the spine even in the hottest Summer day. What an experience, it must be, to sit there and take it all in. There is something curious, you know, about Basilicata and the sea: because we think it's always the Ionian, the jewel-like green blue Ionian, that fluid crystal road joining Italy and Greece, but there is a sliver of Basilicata facing the Tyrrhenian, too: here, we find Maratea, the "Pearl of the Tyrrhenian," a beautiful little village filled with history and 44 churches. Then there is M atera, of course, with its whitewashed stone walls and the Sassi, that UNESCO protected patrimony, dw ellings carved into s tone Matera, a city of beauty and history, will be European Capital for Culture in 2019 © Tupungato | Dreamstime.com FRANCESCA BEZZONE Continued to page 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Life in Basilicata is simple and peaceful: is it worth ruin it in name of mass tourism?

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