Italy from the Inside

The Sassi of Matera

Last summer, my wife and I visited Matera in the region of Basilicata in southern Italy. We were curious to learn why UNESCO inscribed Matera into its Heritage list. And it didn’t take long for us to find an answer. The old part of the city, called Sassi di Matera, originate from a prehistoric settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy. The Sassi are houses dug into the rock, often with no windows.

Because of the resemblance of ancient sites in and around Jerusalem, director Mel Gibson chose Matera as the setting for his famous movie The Passion of the Christ.

We shot several panoramic photos of the Sassi and surroundings so you can enjoy this very particular city that is finally starting to get the attention from tourist searching for the unbeaten path.

Click on the images below to view the high resolution version of the pictures. Each high-res image is about ~500K.



Italy Safety Tips for Kids (video)


A family trip to Italy is a joyful event. If your kids are as young as mine (3 and 6 years old), then you probably already expect to devote some extra attention to prevent they could get lost in some crowded tourist attraction, market or local event.
I’ve asked my daughter Silvia to share on camera some tips and simple Italian phrases that your kids may learn ahead of time in order to minimize some of these worries.

– Can’t see the video? Watch it from YouTube
– iPod version (MP4 – 9Mb)
– Zune version (WMV – 7Mb)

Italy audio tour guides for your iPod

If you’re planning to bring along your iPod, Zune or other MP3 player in your next trip to Italy, here is a good way to maximize the use of your device. WhiteHot Productions has released a series of personal audio tour guides of some key Italian destinations called Great Discoveries.

I had an opportunity to review their product and enjoy the professionally produced recordings with historically appropriate background music. You can preview some of the audio tour clips directly on their site. For several destinations, such as Palazzo Ducal in Venice, you can download and print floor plans and maps in PDF format as well.
Priced around $16 per audio guide, you may already enjoy some savings if you’ve two or more family members planning to rent the official audio devices offered by the museums.

Being a podcaster myself, I love the idea and I appreciate the quality implementation of these audio guides.