Southern Italy | Between the Stone City and Conical Roofs
The first time I saw these small towns in Southern Italy, I was drawn to their timeless quality.
There are no uniform new buildings here, nor are there artificially manicured streets. Houses grow directly out of the rock, with stone walls, arches, bell towers, and roofs layered together. When the sunlight hits, the entire city turns a warm honey color. As the sky darkens, lights flicker to life from the stone crevices.
The top half of Image 1 shows the old town view of Matera.
Ochre stone houses spread along the hillside, and ancient bell towers rise high among the buildings. The black sculpture in the foreground contrasts with the stone city behind it, adding a touch of modernity to the image. It also serves as a reminder that this city is not frozen in the past, but continues to live between history and the present.
The most special thing about Matera is that its architecture and the mountainside blend together.
Many houses are built against the rock face, with minimal decoration on the walls and small windows. Looking from afar, the entire city seems to have grown naturally from the canyon—rugged, quiet, and possessing a beauty that is hard to replicate.
The bottom half of Image 1 features the conical-roofed houses of Alberobello.
White houses are clustered together, topped with gray conical stone slabs. Simple symbols are painted on the domes, and narrow paths and small shops wind between the houses. The white walls look pristine in the sunlight, giving the place a fairy-tale feeling.
Unlike the weightiness of Matera, Alberobello is lighter in spirit.
The conical roofs resemble rows of inverted hats, each with a different shape, yet maintaining an overall order. Walking among them, your gaze is always drawn to the roofs; looking up, there are staggered gray stone slabs, and looking down, there are white walls, flower pots, and small signs at the doorways.
Matera in Image 2 is being gradually illuminated by the sunset.
The city in the distance is spread out on the undulating rocky terrain, the roofs and stone walls are tinged with gold, and the outline of the canyon becomes clearer in the twilight. Lights in the foreground flicker on one by one, and the originally quiet stone city begins to take on the warmth of living.
The bottom half is a close-up of the bell tower and stone buildings.
The tall tower stands under the gray-blue sky, free from the interference of too many modern buildings, making the image look very clean. The outline of the bell tower is not complicated, but the texture of the stone walls and the negative space of the sky give it a particularly powerful presence.
The top half of Image 3 shows a Southern Italian neighborhood vibrant with local life.
Pine trees with unique shapes grow on the roofs, and the orange and beige houses look soft in the sunset. Stone walls, arches, and old buildings are gently brushed by the light, reflecting both the traces left by history and the vibrancy of local life.
The bottom half of Image 3 returns to a panoramic view of the hillside city of Matera.
The houses spread along the canyon like a staircase, and the distant caves and old buildings are connected. There is still a little light on the horizon, the city lights have turned on, and the shadows on the rock wall are intertwined with the lights, making the whole city look profound and tranquil.
In some places, the closer it gets to nightfall, the more you can see its true appearance.
The stone city in Image 4 is a perfect example. The sculpture in the foreground has a fluid form, and behind it is the old city dyed orange by the sunset. Stone houses, roads, and canyons spread out in layers in the distance, and the lights are like small flames scattered on the hillside, giving the originally austere city a soft side.
I really like the architecture of these small towns in Southern Italy.
They do not strive for uniformity, nor are they in a hurry to cover up the traces left by time. The stone walls are a bit weathered, the roofs are of different heights, and the streets often turn along the mountain. But it is these imperfections that make the city look not like a movie set, but a place that has truly been lived in for a long time.
If you are photographing Matera, make use of the high-altitude vantage points.
Capture the entire old town, canyon, and twilight in one frame, and wait until the lights just turn on to take your shot. When photographing Alberobello, focus on the conical roofs and look for the variations in height between them. You can also capture details like doorplates, flower pots, and small shops to add a sense of authentic local life to your images.
The beauty of Matera is silent and profound.
The beauty of Alberobello is hidden in the small conical-roofed houses. One relies on rocks to remember history, and the other uses roofs to preserve tradition, but both make one thing clear:
A truly character-filled city does not necessarily need magnificent landmarks. Sometimes, an old stone wall or a bell tower is enough to make it memorable for a long time.