The Solley's in Italy

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Cub Scout Day Hike (Astroni) & Cold Weather Campout

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Matera ( The Sassi )

The area of what is now Matera has been settled since the Palaeolithic. The city was allegedly founded by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, with the name of Matheola after the consul Lucius Caecilius Metellus. In AD 664 Matera was conquered by the Lombards and became part of the Duchy of Benevento. In the 7th and 8th centuries the nearby grottos were colonized by both Benedictine and Greek-Orthodox monastic institutions. The 9th and 10th centuries were characterized by the struggle between Saracens, Byzantines and the German emperors, including Louis II, who destroyed the city. After the settlement of the Normans in Apulia, Matera was ruled by William Iron-Arm from 1043. After a short communal phase and a series of pestilences and earthquakes, the city in the fifteenth century became an Aragonese possession, and was given in fief to the barons of the Tramontano family. In 1514, however, the population rebelled against the oppression and killed Count Giovanni Carlo Tramontano. In the seventeenth century Matera was handed over to the Orsini and then became part of the Terre d'Otranto di Puglia. Later it was capital of Basilicata, a position it retained until 1806, when Joseph Bonaparte reassigned it to Potenza. In 1927 it became capital of the Matera province. On September 21, 1943, the Materani rose against the German occupation, the first Italian city to fight against the Wehrmacht.

The Sassi (Ancient town)

Sassi di Matera

Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the "Sassi di Matera" (meaning "stones of Matera"). The Sassi originate from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy. The Sassi are houses dug into the calcareous rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Apulia. Many of these "houses" are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often are located on the rooftops of other houses. The ancient town grew in height on one slope of the ravine created by a river that is now a small stream. The ravine is known locally as "la Gravina". In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city. However, people continued to live in the Sassi, and according to the English Fodor's guide:
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“

Matera is the only place in the world where people can boast to be still living in the same houses of their ancestors of 9,000 years ago.

”

Until the late 1980s this was considered an area of poverty, since these houses were, and in most areas still are, mostly unlivable. Current local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and has promoted the re-generation of the Sassi with the aid of the European Union, the government, UNESCO, and Hollywood. Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs, and hotels.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Gallagher comes to Italy

He is funny, even after all these years

The Solley kids with Gallagher

Preparing to laugh, and get splattered

Gallagher shirtless, and Emily & Andrew ready to try out the sledge-o-matic

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Sorry I've fallen behind on our Family Blog post.....

Just wanted to say sorry for not keeping up with everything going on ! I promise to get back on schedule, and keep you all posted on our wonderful experience of Italy, and Europe. I need to catch up, because we have a trip to Paris , France coming up in early April. So keep checking in, and you'll see some of our newest adventures. God Bless you all!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Our trip back to the States Jan. 2011

It was a very special trip back to the States!! We have been away for a year and a half, and the children were so excited to see everyone! We flew on a 767, and all the seats were oversized, and very comfortable! We flew right out of Naples, and our first stop was Lajes , Portugual. What a beautiful little island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, but we didn't get to see much of it, because we could only stay in the terminal for the hour long re-fuel. From Lajes , we flew right to Norfolk, Va where Mommy was waiting for us !