magicbeans. nothing if not awkward.

otranto. a few sights. and back on the bus to a short stop at alberobello. a very cute little town. the local buildings are called trulli. they are basically a small cube with a conical dome on top. but they cover the hillsides in beehive like patterns.

lunch was good. the town was interesting. but while we were there, and keep in mind it's the end of march in southern italy, it began snowing.

on the bus ride into matera we drove through a large snowstorm. there was accumulation on the ground when we arrived. but that didn't take away from how amazing matera is. the city was built along the walls of two ravines, originally carved into the edges themselves, little one or two room caves, and then later built out some. it was occupied from ancient time until the mid-twentieth century, when the italian government started a program to move people out and into the new planned communities outside the city. at that point whole families were living in the caves along with all their animals. in the 1970s people began moving back into the sassi (ravines) and renovating the old caves and houses to make the livable by modern standards. about half to two-thirds are still empty though. the architect in me wanted to buy a section of abandoned caves and design the renovation. even in the role of a developer, something a lot of architects do, but i had never expected any desire of the sort in me.

still, i think i would really like to have a small summer cave-home there someday.