"The Sassi of Matera, its Moving Beauty, Tragic History, and Recent Rebirth" – JoAnn Pierson

Event Information

2pm Tea and Refreshments

The region that is now Matera was home to cave dwelling humans as long as 9,000 years ago and is believed to be one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. Sassi means stones and refers to dwellings cut from rock. In the 1950s, as many as 16,000 people were still living in caves without running water or electricity. The area was considered “the shame of Italy” because of extreme poverty and widespread malaria, cholera, and typhoid. In 1945, Carlo Levi – a doctor, artist, author, and political activist – published his memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli about his year of exile near Matera under the Fascists. He singled out the Sassi for its “tragic beauty,” filth, and disease. The book caused an uproar in postwar Italy and the government instituted a plan to forcibly relocate most of the population to new public housing. The Sassi was abandoned and left uninhabitable and dangerous until the late 1980s when some young adventurers organized volunteers to clean up the area. UNESCO listed the Sassi as a World Heritage site in 1993, and Matera was named one of 2019 European Capitals of Culture. Join JoAnn as she takes us on a guided tour of one of her favorite cities in southern Italy.

Directions

Massachusetts Audubon Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont.

**NOTE:  According to Mass. Audubon, online maps and GPS units may not give accurate directions.** Please use those copied below, taken from their website https://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/habitat/directions. 

From the West:

·       Take Route 2 eastbound to Exit 58 for Park Avenue.  

·       At the first traffic light (Park Avenue), turn right.

·       Proceed a short distance to a small traffic circle.  

·       Take the second right onto Prospect Street.  Belmont Hill School will be on your right.

·       Take the next right onto Tyler Road.  

·       Take the next right onto Juniper Road.

·       The sanctuary entrance is 0.2 miles ahead on the right.

From the East:

·       Take Route 2 westbound, to Exit 59 for Route 60/ Belmont Center.  

·       At end of ramp, turn left onto Route 60 West/Pleasant Street.

·       Follow Pleasant Street for 0.6 miles and take a right at the third traffic light onto Clifton Street.

·       Take the first left onto Fletcher Road.

·       Bear left at the fork and take the next left onto Juniper Road.

·       The sanctuary entrance is 0.2 miles ahead on the right.

By public transportation:  Habitat is a one-mile walk from Belmont Center, which is accessible by the MBTA Commuter Rail or MBTA Bus #74/75 from Harvard Square, Cambridge. 

Latitude/Longitude: 42.403056, -71.18497  

Parking

Available near the Education Center.