Craco is a medieval village, famous for having been completely abandoned after its evacuation started in 1963 due to a landslide of vast proportions. Since then it has become a veritable ghost town, situated on the top of a hill, surrounded by ravines and Badlands (called "Calanchi"), clay formations in the shape of dunes that evoke desert landscapes of the Far West, making the landscape beautiful, where silence and peace reign supreme.
Like Matera, Craco is often chosen as a movie set for several films like "Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (Christ stopped at Eboli)" directed by Francesco Rosi (1979), "La lupa" directed by Alberto Lattuada (1953), "King David" directed by Bruce Beresford (1985), "The Big Question" directed by Francesco Cabras and Alberto Molinari (2004), "Nativity" di Catherine Hardwicke (2006), "Basilicata coast to coast" directed by Rocco Papaleo (2010), “The Passion” directed by Mel Gibson and many others.
The village will be visited through a secured pathway among ancient districts, squares, alleys, churches and noble's palaces starting from the bottom to the top to reach the late bizantine Church of San Nicola and the Norman Tower dated back to XI century, where only the noise of crows will interrupt the surreal silence and from where the view is of 360° all around, admiring the valleys of Cavone and Bradano rivers until the Jonian coast.
The tour goes on to Aliano, a small village with less than a thousand inhabitants, also surrounded by picturesque countryside and lunar Calanchi Badlands.
The writer, doctor and painter Carlo Levi was confined there between 1935 and 1936 due to political reasons. He wandered the streets, met the inhabitants and discovered the local culture which he came to love. He wrote about it in his famous book "Christ Stopped at Eboli".
During the tour, "a literary journey", apart from the home where the writer lived, studied and painted, you will visit the Museum of Peasant Life and the Picture Gallery, as well as the most important places described in the book like the Fossa del Bersagliere, the Carabinieri Station, the Post office, the Church of San Luigi Gonzaga, the Houses with the eyes and so on…, still bare as it was then but bathed in the magic of a distant memory. You will notice that the village is still frozen in its rural dimension as conveyed by Levi, who decided to be buried here after his death in 1975.
Days available: | Every day. Possibility of pick-up in Matera or accomodations in the surrounding area according to your needs. |
Time Length: |
6 hours plus transfer times from Matera or surrounding areas. |
Difficulty: | Medium. During the tour of Craco you will need to wear a helm for security reasons, which you will get there before entering the site. In Craco there are staircases, ups and downs, necessary to enjoy the monuments and the landscape. Aliano, on the contrary, is easy to visit. |
Don’t forget: | Comfy shoes and during summer water, cap and sun cream. |
Price and Notes: |
The tours is private but, upon request and according to availability, it is possible to make a Tour Sharing with other guests in order to reduce the costs. If you don’t have a car to reach Craco and Aliano, it is possible to book a shuttle or mini-bus. It is possible to make a half day tour by visiting only Craco or Aliano or to make a full day tour by visiting both of them or just one of them combining the tour with other tours of Matera and surrounding area (a suggestion is Metaponto). Please contact me for more information and price. |