A two-hour spin on Lake Turano, May 16th, 2022

Another pleasant two-hour kayak ride around Lake Turano (about 90 km from Rome) followed by a delicious lunch in a restaurant that overlooks the entire lake. 

 

“Hostia, Pier Paolo Pasolini” exhibit at Rome’s Baths of Diocletian, April 12th, 2022.

The “Hostia, Pier Paolo Pasolini” exhibit is on at Rome’s Baths of Diocletian (they were once the largest baths in the Rome Empire).

Pasolini, who was born on March 5th, 1922 in Bologna, was a rather controversial author, poet and film director who was murdered in 1975 at Ostia,  Rome’s sea-side resort.  Italy is currently celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth with an array of conferences and exhibits.

 

The exhibit at the Baths of Diocletian is by Italian artist Nicola Verlato whose work has been inspired by Pasolini’s death.  It also includes a model for an eventual mausoleum to be built in Ostia in honor of Pasolini.

On hand also for the press conference was one of Italy’s foremost art critics/ historians, Vittorio Sgarbi.

Marvellous Matera (and Bond too), May 2nd-5th, 2022!

What to say about Matera, aka the “City of Stones”,

the oldest inhabited city in the world (up until the 1960s people actually lived in the "Stones", the many small rock caves which surround the city) which is a mere 9-10,000 years old and right up there with Aleppo and Jericho? 

Simply marvellous, as were the scenes where Daniel Craig/007 shot the opening scenes of his last movie, “No Time To Die” (and are we really sure it’ll be his last Bond movie?), including the spectacular jump that Bond does with a Triumph motorcycle.  Craig’s stuntman was a former British motorcycle champion who was paid a cool 1 million Euros to do that incredible stunt!  

But the Bond movie isn’t the only one that they’ve shot in Matera (located about 430 km by car from Rome), ditto for Mel Gibson's “The Passion Of Christ", Richard Gere's 1985 "King David" and Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1964 movie, "The Gospel According to Matthew".

Just one of the many curious details of the Bond movie?  They say that Coca-Cola took home 60,000 Euros as their world-famous soda was poured on the slippery and beautiful cobblestone streets so that the cars' tires wouldn't slip during the high-voltage car chase scenes (all pics by the way were taken with the Lumix DC-TZ200 digital camera). 

And they're STILL digging up ancient artefacts!

And yes, also a chess match in Matera.

Only me, walking around with the Bond DVD and right under the "ramp" where 007 takes that amazing flight aboard his Triumph bike.  Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr3NuJ04LWk&t=120s

Ditto for the scene where Bond and his beautiful Bond girl are in front of a church and are about to get his Aston Martin riddled to death by the bad guys.  The bar located right in front of the church actually has hanging on the wall two bullet casings that were used during the filming of that scene (the façade of the church was rebuilt with explosive devices in order to make it look as though the bad guys were also shooting at the church). 

Two "bullets" from the bar where the shooting took place plus a most appropriate poster! 

The many beautiful churches of Matera.

The street where Bond's car is blocked by a small herd of sheep.

How the people once lived in the "Stones".

Vesper Lynd's "tomb". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7y7V0UX9d0

The bridge scene in Gravina in Puglia.

Gravina in Puglia here below.

The "cemetery" where Bond lists the tomb of Vesper Lynd was shot in front of Matera. 

 

One of the several Dali' sculptures around Matera. 

That ancient bridge in Gravina.

The bridge (below) in Gravina in Puglia where Daniel Craig jumps from in order to avoid being killed by the bad guys. 

The church (below) where the shooting scene of Bond's Aston Martin was filmed. 

  

Together with having been nominated in 2019 as the European Capital of Culture plus the August-September 2019 shooting of 007 the town got an incredible boost money and promotion-wise as more than one tourist, including us, has visited the wonderful town (which looks as though it had been designed by the artist Escher).   

The bridge scene in the movie was actually shot in Gravina in Puglia, 30 km from Matera.  Wonderful our hotel, the Rizzi Residence, located in the heart of the town (and about 100 meters from the scene where Bond’s car is blocked by a small herd of sheep) as are the people and also the fine restaurants and vino!