Sassi

The Sassi originated in a prehistoric troglodyte settlement, and these dwellings are thought to be among the first ever human settlements in what is now Italy. The Sassi are habitations dug into the calcareous rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Apulia. Many of them are really little more than caverns, and in some parts of the Sassi a street lies on top of another group of dwellings. The ancient town grew up on one slope of the rocky ravine created by a river that is now a small stream, and this ravine is known locally as "la Gravina". In the 1950s, the government of Italy used force to relocate most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city.

Until the late 1980s the Sassi was considered an area of poverty, since its dwellings were, and in most cases still are, uninhabitable. The present local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and it has promoted the regeneration of the Sassi with the aid of the Italian government, UNESCO, and Hollywood. Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs, and hotels there.

For such a small town it ha some pretty ornate churches!

A stone sculpture I picked up for Dan

This trip right here is the difference between visiting some place and living some place. This would not be on my top twenty list of you must see in Italy, but to have the luxury of time on your side it is pretty cool to get out and see the more obscure and down right old things in the world. I mean really the dwelling of the VERY FIRST EVER ITALIANS!

Do you see the caves out pass the houses?

homes built right into the hill- and this would be deemed more modern

You may notice all the buildings are the same color, unlike Napoli. This rock is indigenous here and everything is made from it. It kind of gives it a very washed out monotone look, but then it makes the hills stand out more and it is interesting to think of the ancestors who just carved the rock away to make caves verses those that brought the rock down and built with it. All the same rock!

We spent a long time trying to figure out if that was a real corps

strange skulls all over

In Italy you are meant to look up at every ceiling

of course a break for some food!