Baroque church, Martina Franca

Martina Franca in the South of Italy is really pretty but we didn't enjoy it. It was cold and windy, the wind was so strong that we couldn't stand straight. We had our luggage with us and we did not enjoy the visit at all. So we left soon after lunch and after just snapping a few pictures. Pity.

The crypt of original sin

 It had been a tough year, 2014 and I needed a break. More than anything I needed a reason for a big break. When my German friend posted on his facebook page images of the painted churches of Matera. I knew that was my reason. I just found my reason to take off for a few days, to Italy no less. I would go only for a few days unless there is a huge reason. The crypt of original sin or in Italian, La cripta del peccato originale, was big enough reason to fly to Italy from Los Angeles. The intrigue around its discovery is all the more reason to see it. Back in 1962 a little tale told by a poor farmer in the nearby village set off a big search for this painted cave, 'cento santi' or 100 saints as the farmer calls it.

 'What 100 saints?' He said, 'you know, all painted, the shepherds used to go in to pray.' He can't remember where it was, he was only 10 years old. So this little group of Materans started looking every Sunday, poking into every cavity in those rugged hills. They came up empty and almost gave up. They made one final attempt, first cave, nothing, second cave, nothing, third cave.....wait, there's something on the walls..... Oh my god, the 100 saints! So this was the story behind the discovery of the crypt of original sin, why the name? Here on one side was the frescoes of the creation story, the story of Adam and Eve and the eating of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, here was the frescoes about the original sin.

 What a find! Imagine being an archaeologist and making the discovery of a lifetime. Today this cave is under lock and key and is under the care of the Zetema foundation but tours of it can be arranged on their website. It is not close to anything, in fact, transportation there is a problem, one can hire a taxi and have them wait or hire a local guide and include this as part of the package. I hired a local guide for the day, cost me 120 euros but it was well worth it. Tell him what you are interested in and he will arrange a private tour.  Before I left for Italy, I'd watched many videos of the crypt so when our guide stopped the car, I ran down the stairs, I'd already seen these steps so many times. The guy from the foundation was waiting for us with the key. We weren't allowed to take any photos but I shot these from their website.

 I've been to many places and seen many frescoes but none can compare with these. They have an exquisite quality to it. There were painted in the 9th C, some 500 years before Giotto! I've never see Mary looking like this. She is so beautiful and her dress is like nothing I've ever seen before.

 Adam and Eve hiding their nakedness with fig leaves and the snake is curled up in the tree next to them.

 Details of St Peter's costume and he has keys on one of his hands.

 There is a trail of red poppies at the base of the frescoes. The painter wanted to show that all the events are connected. No one knows who painted these frescoes, the painter is simply known as the painter of the flowers of Matera.

What an amazing visit. It still leave me breathless, to have seen such beauty!

Isis destroyed ancient city of Nimrod, Iraq

 The wondrous Ishtar gate at Pergamon museum in Berlin, Germany. Thank God, the Germans took this and the whole world can come here to see it. Built by King Nebuchadnezzar, there were 8 such gates dedicated to Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love and war. Other countries took the rest but the bulk are here in the Pergamon museum in Berlin. I was here in May 2014, a life long dream to be at the Pergamon museum. If this was still left in Iraq, it will have had the same fate as Nimrod! Saddam did build a replica Ishtar gate which was destroyed by the allied forces. The blue color reflects the color of the Euphrates, a royal color of the Nebuchadnezzar court.

The winged lions, I think these were Assyrian just like Nimrod! This is an affront against modern humanity.

Carlo Levi, Christ stopped at Eboli

This was actually a long mural that I chopped up into pieces. Carlo Levi, at the time of his exile no longer practices as a doctor. He was more a social commentator and painter. He was sent into exile because he opposed Mussolini regarding the war against Ethiopia. In this mural he depicted the misery of the people of Matera. The mural hangs in the Carlo Levi room at the Museo Palazzo Lanfranchi in Matera.

84 Charing Cross Rd

I'm now reading 84 Charing Cross Rd, a delightful book about this American lady who wrote to an used bookstore in London to order books. Before long there began a friendship between her and the staff and letters began flying back and forth. She started sending them care packages of food after she heard that the Brits were under food rationing. In the end the family of Frank Doel who was the principal person who was sending her the books allowed her to print those letters in a book and there was even a movie made about the story. These things doesn't happen anymore and that's a pity. Charing Cross Rd is a favorite street of mine when in London, its full of used bookstores and also the home of Foyles, the largest bookstore in England. I can't wait to spend endless hours there again. I have to reserve a whole day just to go through all the bookstores.

Carlo Levi

Carlo Levi was a Jewish doctor who opposed Mussolini when Mussolini went to war with Ethiopia and he was banished into exile in Lucania (Basilicata). He wrote the book 'Christ stopped at Eboli' documenting his time in exile. He was in exile in a village called Gagliano which is just next to Matera. But the living conditions were very similar so much so that he could be describing living conditions in Matera. He was more a painter and philosopher than a doctor and he painted when he was in exile. His work can be seen at the Museo Palazzo Lanfranchi in Matera. There is a whole room dedicated to Carlo Levi..

Church of our lady of the three doors

 This church is in Park Murgia and away from civilization. It had three naves and therefore had three doors but time and weather has not been kind, the door has fallen off and left the church vulnerable to weather and thieves. If you look carefully at the first two images, you'll noticed that there is a ring around the woman on the far left. Someone tried to pry her off the wall but she was so fragile that they had to stop before she fell apart. So she was spared!

 In fact, this was the church from which numerous panels were pried off the frescoes and removed.

The local authorities reported the incident to Interpol and they found the stolen frescoes in Germany. Some were recovered and now have been restored and resides in the museum in Matera, the Museo Palazzo Lanfranchi. Today this church is under lock and key but your guide can retrieve the key from a caretaker office. Its a problem all over Italy, there is just not enough resources to restore everything and to keep them open for the world to see. But whatever we can see is plenty. Keep on traveling.

Charleston farmhouse, England

 I interrupt my monologue on the trip to Italy with this little blurb on Charleston farmhouse, a house lived in by some members of the Bloomsbury group. After watching the British bake off on PBS last night I couldn't resist this. I know our BBC programs are all outdated even the ones of Downton Abbey but we still enjoy them. I know the British bake off was shown in England last Summer but still the romance for me burns deep and bright. The finals last night showed family members picnicking outside the tent in a Summer setting that is so quintessentially English. I couldn't resist but remember that I was here last May (2014). Looking at these images makes me want to jump on the next flight and be here again except its still too early, England is still in the throes of Winter. Maybe later.....

 Early that day, the lawns at Charleston was empty but soon.....

 People with their picnic baskets soon started to arrive and mark out their spot on the lawn....

 Before long the grounds was filled. What a glorious day in May that was.

 I sat here outside a sandwich tent, writing under an apple tree.

 Here is the pond which Vanessa Bell described as a lake when she first visited the house with the intent of moving in with her family and friends.

 The garden was rather wild when she first saw the house but as Virginia Woolf, her sister, wrote, 'you can make it lovely.' Make it lovely she did though these gardens have been fully restored to its original glory by professionals.

 You can keep a spot in your home to honor the Bloomsbury group, have some meadow flowers in a milk jug in some corner.

 Though no photography was allowed inside the house, I took these images from a book on Charleston farmhouse.

I hope you will visit Charleston farmhouse while on your next visit to England. It is very easy even without a car. Take the train from Victoria station to Lewes. At Lewes, either take a taxi to the house or walk (quite far) or wait for the bus. While the festival is on at Charleston, there is a shuttle (not very often) that leaves the train station at Lewes and goes to the front door of the house and back to the station. You won't be the only one. When the weather is good, hordes of English people flock there, to meet up with family and friends and make a day of it. Enjoy!

Sunday in Rome

How magical, to have spent a whole Sunday in Rome, a few weeks ago. Well, not really a whole Sunday. We left Naples at 9am, reached Rome at 10 am, our room at the hostel wasn't ready, so we bought a metro ticket and headed over to San Giovanni in Laterano but ended the day at Santa Maria Maggiore where we attended an evening service at one of the side chapels. The singing was so beautiful, it was in Italian but we could join in the chorus by singing, 'alleluia'. I know if I'm ever in Rome on a Sunday again I'm going back to Santa Maria Maggiore. I feel so at home in Rome.

Are we there yet?

The climbing Jasmine are in full bloom. I have some in the house right now and it smells so wonderful. I went out to pick some yesterday and couldn't help but placed some in my hair. I'm practicing for Midsommar celebration in Denmark.

Park Murgia

Most of the churches in Park Murgia are closed. There is not enough resources to keep all of them opened. But from the crack I was able to get a shot of the fresco inside.

 A view of Matera from Park Murgia.

Park  Murgia is an empty quarter where only shepherds graze their cows and sheep. We could hear the cow bells and knew the cows were close by. Indeed they were, heritage black cows which give milk for making the wonderful cheese typical of Matera.