| If you are planning to tour Europe, you should consider | | | | restaurants take advantage of this unique location. The |
| the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Basilicata forms | | | | area was once called ''la vergogna nazionale,'' |
| the instep of the Italian boot with two small seacoasts, | | | | translated as Italy's shame. Matera strongly resembles |
| one on the Ionian Sea in the east and one on the | | | | ancient Jerusalem and historical movies such as Pier |
| Tyrrhenian Sea in the west. Depending on your | | | | Paolo Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew |
| interests, Basilicata may be your ideal vacation spot. | | | | and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ were shot |
| You can get classic Italian food, and wash it down with | | | | there. |
| fine local wine. Basilicata is among the few regions of | | | | Terranova di Pollino is a mountain village in southern |
| Italy as yet undiscovered by tourists. There's a | | | | Basilicata very close to Calabria. It lies at the entrance |
| tradeoff; you won't have to fight the crowds to see | | | | to the Parco Nazionale del Pollino (Pollino National Park) |
| what you want to see. On the other hand, you'll have | | | | which is the largest in Italy at just under 750 square |
| a hard time finding fancy hotels. And its roads are not | | | | miles (more than 1900 square kilometers.) The park is |
| always the best, hardly surprising when you consider | | | | home to a wide variety of endangered species. Many |
| the region's mountainous terrain. | | | | fossils have been found including a very well |
| Matera, population sixty thousand, lies south of the | | | | preserved skeleton of a giant elephant that lived |
| Apulia border. This area has been settled for at least | | | | between 400,000 and 700,000 years ago. |
| twelve thousand years. In September 1943 Matera | | | | Basilicata is home to very traditional cooking. The |
| was the first Italian city to rise against the German | | | | major meat is pork and the locals know how to |
| invaders. | | | | extract the maximum from their porkers. Hot peppers |
| Matera's Apulian-Romanesque Cathedral dates from | | | | are popular and can be searingly hot. Basilicata bread |
| the Thirteenth Century. Believe it or not in Matera's | | | | is quite popular in many parts of Italy. If you like |
| unique old town the streets are often rooftops; its | | | | powerful wines, you should try the Aglianico del Vulture |
| houses, churches, and chic restaurants are caves, | | | | which comes from a local grape that grows on the |
| hewn out of solid rock. The Sassi of Matera are | | | | extinct Mount Vulture volcano or its surrounding hills. |
| caves occupied continuously by human beings for | | | | This wine may be cellared for a maximum of twenty |
| some nine thousand years. They have been | | | | years. |
| designated a World Heritage Site. Numerous bars and | | | | |