We set off for our next destination, Alberobello, but wanted to call in at Montescagliioso recommended by the lady from the Metaponto museum. There is not much to say about Montescaglioso except that it has a very pretty old town and, being set on a high hill, it has fantastic views over the surrounding countryside. We didn't see the former because there was nowhere to park and we were in danger of getting caught in the small lanes, so we opted for a tactical retreat. We did see some of the views as we descended the hill.
I always imagined the far south of Italy to be rocky, barren and mountainous but it continued to surprise. Yes there are some stony hillsides but our journey today was through quiet roads over green rolling hills. Derelict farmhouses, probably of subsistence farmers, littered the landscape and were now surrounded by huge fields of wheat.
One of the joys of travelling is finding the unexpected. I had been intrigued by many places on the map not marked as towns or villages but with a different symbol and all named as Masseria ..... We came across one of these as we drove, being first struck by the architecture of the small hamlet with one very large, arched building and houses nearby with a tower amongst them. When we stopped by them we discovered that the hamlet was Masseria Jesce dating to the 14th century and there was also an archaeological site dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. We would have liked to stop to investigate the village but it was down a dirt track and there was nowhere to park Henrietta on the asphalted road. Jane subsequently read that a Messeria was a cooperative commune often originally associated with a monastery – this obviously explained the large arched building that we had seen.
Although there was no mention of it our guidebooks or any other literature that we had seen, there was an archaeological site shown on our map that was on our route, so we decided to take a look. Monte Sunnace was obviously a major site with a fence surrounding it and two coaches parked in the very small car park. I squeezed Henrietta into a space and we went to investigate. The first thing that we found was that the gates were all locked and there was a sign in four languages explaining that you needed to obtain a ticket from the castle in the nearby large town. We didn't know the location of the castle and had no desire to drive around the town trying to find it and a parking place. As luck would have it, a school party were just leaving and the gates opened as they approached them. We decided to slip in and throw ourselves on the mercy of the custodian. It worked! In Italian, he explained that we needed a ticket but was happy for us to visit and get a ticket later, at least that is what we think he said. We spent a very pleasant hour wandering around the extensive site where there was much evidence of recent excavation. It had been occupied from Neolithic times but continuous occupation only started in the 9th century BC. It had been a Greek city but, after the Roman takeover, it declined in importance and was abandoned between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. Very little happened to it after that, so the remains (almost entirely low level) are well preserved.
On then to the campsite at Alberobello ready for our visit to the Truli dwellings tomorrow.
Photos: An interesting house with plenty of space to catch the breeze during those very hot summers. The gates were chained and secured with a huge padlock and it was quite obvious that it had not been used for some time; Masseria Jesce – the monastery.
I always imagined the far south of Italy to be rocky, barren and mountainous but it continued to surprise. Yes there are some stony hillsides but our journey today was through quiet roads over green rolling hills. Derelict farmhouses, probably of subsistence farmers, littered the landscape and were now surrounded by huge fields of wheat.
One of the joys of travelling is finding the unexpected. I had been intrigued by many places on the map not marked as towns or villages but with a different symbol and all named as Masseria ..... We came across one of these as we drove, being first struck by the architecture of the small hamlet with one very large, arched building and houses nearby with a tower amongst them. When we stopped by them we discovered that the hamlet was Masseria Jesce dating to the 14th century and there was also an archaeological site dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. We would have liked to stop to investigate the village but it was down a dirt track and there was nowhere to park Henrietta on the asphalted road. Jane subsequently read that a Messeria was a cooperative commune often originally associated with a monastery – this obviously explained the large arched building that we had seen.
Although there was no mention of it our guidebooks or any other literature that we had seen, there was an archaeological site shown on our map that was on our route, so we decided to take a look. Monte Sunnace was obviously a major site with a fence surrounding it and two coaches parked in the very small car park. I squeezed Henrietta into a space and we went to investigate. The first thing that we found was that the gates were all locked and there was a sign in four languages explaining that you needed to obtain a ticket from the castle in the nearby large town. We didn't know the location of the castle and had no desire to drive around the town trying to find it and a parking place. As luck would have it, a school party were just leaving and the gates opened as they approached them. We decided to slip in and throw ourselves on the mercy of the custodian. It worked! In Italian, he explained that we needed a ticket but was happy for us to visit and get a ticket later, at least that is what we think he said. We spent a very pleasant hour wandering around the extensive site where there was much evidence of recent excavation. It had been occupied from Neolithic times but continuous occupation only started in the 9th century BC. It had been a Greek city but, after the Roman takeover, it declined in importance and was abandoned between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. Very little happened to it after that, so the remains (almost entirely low level) are well preserved.
On then to the campsite at Alberobello ready for our visit to the Truli dwellings tomorrow.
Photos: An interesting house with plenty of space to catch the breeze during those very hot summers. The gates were chained and secured with a huge padlock and it was quite obvious that it had not been used for some time; Masseria Jesce – the monastery.
No comments:
Post a Comment