We got to the hotel last night after a spine-tingling drive up hairpin curves after dark.  We were greeted at the hotel by oil lamps set on the ancient stone steps, like medieval travelers arriving at a hostelry.

The village is called Matiera’, founded by the Greeks at the time when southern Italy was a Greek colony.

Our room is a marvel of modernity, high ceilings, but not a lot of floor space.  The space problem has been solved by creating a very modern sleeping loft with a king-sized bed.  The bathroom is attractive and comfortable, and there’s the original balcony, its stone floor set securely into the wall with a stunning view of the plain below and the sea.

We hadn’t had dinner, and were starving, but I wasn’t up to driving around looking for food.  We were asked what we would like, and asked for bread, cheese and some meat.  There arrived a plate with a selection of cheeses, prociutto, bread and a plate of fresh fruit.

In the morning, we explored this ancient town, which has the flair of an artists’ colony.  The main road (a few residents with small cars drive it), and the pedestrian streets are all paved attractively with stone and tile.  Ceramics are imbedded along the walls of houses, which are well-kept.

  

From the tiny piazza at one end of the town, where I sweated out my ten-point car turn of the night before, you can see the next hilltop town of Grisolia, separated from our mountain by a scary ravine.  At another side of the town, we discovered another view of the sea from someone’s patio.