Cruising the Adriatic--Bari and Madera

I was intrigued by the recent movie, "The Passion of Christ."  It seemed so real, with an ancient-looking, white-washed Jerusalem and a rocky, desolate Golgotha.  Our ship docked in Bari, in the "heel" of the Italy boot.  Our shore excursion visited the ancient Italian city, Madera, where "The Passion of Christ" was filmed.  We stopped on a hill outside the city to look at the panorama of caves and white-washed houses.

 

This hill was Golgotha in "The Passion of Christ," and three large crosses were built upon it.

We visited Madera's "modern" areas, with churches and government buildings dating from the 1700s, built in baroque style.  One of the churches was decorated with skulls and cross-bones, to remind parishioners of the constant nearness of death--"Momento mori," in Latin.

 

The streets were full of scooters, parked and in motion.

This street musician and his son made an interesting counterpoint to the modern sculpture displayed in front of the very traditional art museum in Madera.  We relaxed on the town square next to the museum before and after our walking tour of the cave dwellings.

 

For centuries, Italians lived in Madera caves with their animals.  In 1956 the Italian government forced them out because of health concerns.  We took a walking tour of the cave dwelling area.

 

 

We visited three churches built in the rock caves, with bits of frescos remaining.

 

We also visited a cave home.  Originally a large family lived here, with its pigs and sheep housed in another room of the cave.

 

Of course we needed a gelato to help us recover from all the walking and thinking on the tour.

Dave and I then spent an hour wandering the "new" city of Madera (the 1700s are new by Italian standards).  We liked the combination of snazzy 2000s Italian car next to baroque church.

We enjoyed watching the restaurant owners spiff up their outdoor tables, the lovers stroll together, the mothers chat next to baby carriages, and the accordionist play one more song for tips.

 

We ate pasta in a Madera cantina before driving back to our ship.