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The Route
At first, the stage is wavy and demanding, both in course and profile, and runs within the Pollino national park. The route then levels out past the lake of Monte Cotugno, heading for Matera after passing through the province. A few mild climbs and descents in the closing part lead to punchier bits in the stage finale.
Final kilometres
The final kilometres descend slightly along wide city avenues with a few mild bends, all the way to the red flag. Two left-hand bends shortly before the last kilometre lead into the 800 m long home straight, on a slight incline. The finish line sits on 7.5 m wide tarmac.
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Host city:
Castrovillari
Overview
Charming town located on a hollow at 360 meters above sea level, Castrovillari, with its approximately 22 thousand inhabitants, is the most important Center of the Pollino National Geopark.
Various archaeological finds testify first forms of organized life in the Hellenic and Bruzia eras, although other archaeological finds were found on the banks of the river Coscile (ancient “Sybaris”) dating back to the Paleolithic era.
The name “Castrovillari” probably derives from the late medieval Latin “castrum villarum” (literally “fortress of the villas”).
Food
Baccalà e Patate
Ingredients: cod’s slices, potatoes, ground pepper, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, (bay leaf, olives).
Execution: peel and wash the potatoes and cut them into large pieces. Cut the cod into pieces. In a saucepan put oil and crushed garlic, start heating and immediately add water, pepper and salt; at the beginning of the boil add the potatoes; when the potatoes are almost cooked add the pieces of cod (to taste also bay leaf and olives). Simmer for 10 minutes, turning gently.
“Lampascioni” e uova
Ingredients: lampascioni, eggs, powdered pepper, garlic, extra virgin oil, dry round pepper, salt.
Execution: thoroughly clean the wild onions, wash, split in four and leave overnight in water. In a pan with oil, fry the lampascioni; when the cooking is almost completed, add the salt, garlic, ground pepper, chopped dry pepper and scrambled eggs; mix well and finish cooking.
Fagioli in Pignatta
Ingredients: dry white beans, extra virgin olive oil, powdered pepper, chilli pepper, salt, stale bread.
Execution: cook the dried beans directly in the pot by the fireplace with water and a little salt. In a plate, put some stale bread and pour the beans over it with the boiling water, add oil, ground pepper and chilli pepper.
Broccoli e Salsiccia
Ingredients: broccoli, round red peppers (dried or fresh), garlic, extra virgin olive oil and salt.
Execution: clean the broccoli, break them up and wash them well; put them in a saucepan and cover with water, start cooking and add the salt, when cooked drain them. In a pan put oil, some crushed garlic, pepper and the sausage sliced into small pieces. As soon as it starts to fry, add the broccoli, mix and season with salt.
Maccheroni ai ferretti
Ingredients: flour, water and salt.
Execution: put the flour on a pastry board, add water and salt. Knead well until a medium-hard paste is obtained. Make long sticks of pasta and then cut them into small pieces about 10 cm long, on each place the ‘Ferretto’ and work with the palm of your hands to stretch it as long as possible. Then put the macaroni lined up on top of a tablecloth awaiting cooking. Prepare a pot with plenty of boiling water and cook the macaroni for at least 5 minutes.
They can be seasoned with tomato sauce with sopressata or sausage. The kid’s sauce is particularly appreciated.
Drink
The autochthonous grape variety of Pollino is, without a doubt, Magliocco.
Points of interest
Almost equidistant from the two Calabrian seas, it boasts numerous noble palaces and various buildings of great historical and artistic interest, the latter all included in the area of the historical center.
In the suggestive district of the so-called Civita, an ancient nucleus of the city which is now a sort of open-air museum, in fact, you can spot gems like the ancient Sanctuary of the Madonna del Castello (located in a dominant position over the city and dated 1090 AD) and the monumental Church – for some years now elevated to the title of Basilica Minore – of San Giuliano (whose original nucleus dates back to the 11th – 12th century) with a majestic 16th century portal; and a museum of sacred art.
The two monuments usually chosen as the location of many cultural events are also splendid: the Aragonese Castle and the Franciscan Protoconvent (founded in 1220, owes its name to the fact that it is the oldest Franciscan convent in the region), which houses an interesting Archaeological Museum and the Municipal Art Gallery.
Matera
Overview
Let yourself go, follow your instinct and wander around the stone labyrinths, where the incessant flow of time loses track of its trajectory. Capture the charm of a very ancient story and get closer to your deepest roots, starting from the heart of the Murgia plateau, from the tuff, consisting of tender and warm limestone, which is both mother and origin of Matera, the 2019 European Capital of Culture.
This soft rock has given birth to the Sassi, revealing both its cave districts: they are divided by a spectacular canyon, which is overlooked by the walls engraved in the guts of the earth of the Archaeological Park of the Rock Churches. A unique location nominated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its historical, archaeological and landscape value. A unique magic that, over time, has achieved the fame of an extraordinary natural film set, where, especially at sunset, you will feel part of a nativity scene, full of meaning. Pure and authentic scenery with no signs of modernity, the Murgia Materana and the Sassi have seen traces of man since prehistoric times and bear witness to the history of humanity, having been continuously inhabited.
And it is precisely the timeless beauty of Matera’s unique townscape that made it a natural film setting, which has inspired many Italian and foreign film directors. Matera’s role in the filmmaking industry began with The Gospel according to St. Matthew (1964) by Pier Paolo Pasolini, who said that he had found in Matera those places and faces that went lost in Palestine. Other important film productions include: King David (1985) by Bruce Beresford, The Sun Also Shines at Night (1990) directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, The Star Maker (1995) by Giuseppe Tornatore, The Passion (2002) by Mel Gibson, and the most recent Ben-Hur (2014) by Timur Dekmambetov, The Young Messiah (2016) by Cyrus Nowrasteh ) and James Bond 007 “No Time to Die” (2020) directed by Kary Fukunaga.
Food
Matera is the ideal location to taste the delicious regional cuisine and wines, bearing the DOP and IGP quality marks. Among the local specialities, there is Matera bread, with its fragrant flavour and characteristic shape that reminds of the Murgia landscapes. The bread is baked in wood-fired ovens and made using durum wheat and natural yeast. Cheeses are also exceptional, as they are produced using Podolica cattle, which can be easily spotted grazing freely in the pastures of the Murgia. Mouth-watering specialities include the ‘Fave e Cicorie’ recipe, a fava bean puree with chicory, and the ‘Crapiata’, which is the traditional mixed legume soup of Matera. ‘Matera DOC’ wines, both white and red, are also exceptional.
Points of interest
The Sassi of Matera are made up of two natural amphitheatres entirely carved out of the rock: the ‘Sasso Barisano’, to the north-west, which is largely formed by palaces and traditional houses, and the Sasso Caveoso, to the south, mostly made up of cave-houses. The ‘Civita’ district, which is the oldest inhabited group of buildings around the Cathedral, overlooks the lively panorama of the Sassi. As the day goes by, the colour and atmosphere of the town centre change significantly: during the day, the dazzle of the sun shines on the white limestone rock; at night, when the moonlight glows on the Sassi, you will experience the unique feeling of being in a huge nativity scene, with hundreds of small lights scattered all over.
The Parco della Murgia Materana, also known as the Historical Natural Park of the Rock Churches of Matera, boasts a natural and spiritual heritage of exceptional value, thanks to its over one hundred and fifty cave churches included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993 Some of these places of worship date back to the Romanesque period and are richly decorated with frescoes and wonderful architectural elements such as apses, quatrefoils, capitals and arches, made even more beautiful by small domes.
Outside the city, in Pietrapenta, lies the Cripta del peccato originale (Crypt of the Original Sin), known as the “Sistine Chapel” of rock-hewn churches. The Crypt is decorated with mural paintings of the Benedictine-Beneventan style, dating back to the 8th-9th centuries AD. An extraordinary cycle of frescoes which depicts, among others, episodes of the Creation and the Original Sin.
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