- Time of past OR future Camino
- Some in the past; more in the future!
A couple of weeks ago Wendy and I walked the Via Ellenica in Italy with another couple. We loved it and here's a short recap!
Basic Information
The Via Ellenica is part of the Cammino Materano series of trails in the south of Italy (connected to the city of Matera). Specifically, the main branch of the Via Ellenica leads from Alberobelllo (Puglia) to Matera (Basilicata), while a variant/extension goes from Brindisi to Alberobello. The main branch is about 170km and the standard way to complete it is in eight stages.
The official website is here: https://camminomaterano.it/via/9/via-ellenica
There is a credential, stamps to collect, and a certificate upon completion.
Pilgrim Infrastructure
Way-marking is very good in both directions, with green and yellow markers (yellow for heading towards Matera, green for heading towards Alberobello, but typically the markers are placed in a way that you can see them going in either direction). Honestly, I think you could do this without GPS but it always makes sense to have it as a backup.
The official site above has a PDF guide for download (in Italian).
There is accommodation along the route, typically in B&B-type places (some of which are involved in the project and give pilgrim discounts), with one or two albergue-type places starting to pop up. There are often no towns between the end points of a stage, so you're pretty much locked into the stages. Ours varied in distance from 16km to 27km.
Difficulty
The official site rates the walk as 'medium' difficulty and each stage is graded as either easy or medium. I don't have elevation charts on hand but I would describe it as pretty flat overall. As always, there's a combination of road and trail walking, but it's mostly rural as this is not a heavily populated area.
Highlights
The two end points are World Heritage listed sites for their unusual traditional housing (the 'trulli' houses of Alberobello and the 'sassi' caves of Matera). Matera, in particular, is a truly extraordinary place. Most of the end-of-stage towns are interesting and worth exploring, and in general, the camino gets more and more interesting as you go along.
The two real highlights, in my view, are the gorges (called 'gravine' in plural) on the second half of the camino, and the lifestyle that historically grew up around them, consisting of rock-hewn churches (especially San Nicola with its frescoes), villages (especially below the city of Ginosa) and cities (Matera). Some of the most interesting towns (Castellaneta, Laterza, Ginosa, and Matera) are built on top of these gorges, and the trail also often goes on the rim of the gorges. These elements make this a unique camino and, in my view, a spectacular one in terms of natural beauty and historic sites.
Hospitality
In addition to the above, the real bonus and gem of the Via Ellenica is the hospitality shown to pilgrims. This was a complete surprise to me and sets it apart from all other pilgrimages I've walked, surpassing my previous gold standard in this field, the Geira e dos Arrieros.
There is a local association that manages the camino and the official guide lists a 'reference person' who lives in each end-of-stage town, who you can contact (or who may contact you first through the camino grapevine) for information, to arrange tours, or just to chat with a friendly local. The guide also lists accommodation and restaurants who are part of the project and have stamps and who welcome pilgrims through pilgrim menus and discounts.
Of all the great people we met, a special mention goes to the two 'Aunties' ('Le Zie'), who shower pilgrims with food and drinks and friendliness midway through the stage leading out of Martina Franca.
I should add that we spoke almost exclusively Italian with everyone we met, so language barrier could be an issue if you don't speak any Italian. Our friends were non-Italian speakers, but even then most people did not offer to speak English, so I would certainly assume that some or even most of these people don't speak much/any English.
Overall
I really loved this camino, more than the Magna Via Francigena that I walked a little earlier in Sicily. It's an amazing way to discover one of my favourite regions in Italy (Puglia) and to understand southern Italy, e.g. by seeing caves where people lived into the 1950s and 1960s. If you're looking for something a little different from a Spanish camino, and are possibly a bit short on time, and are keen on learning/practicing some Italian, the Via Ellenica could be the camino for you!
Photos
The trulli of Alberobello:
The view from the trail:
The Laterza gorge:
The cityscape of Matera:
Wendy crossing a bridge in the gorge below Matera in the early morning:
More photos here on Flickr.
Basic Information
The Via Ellenica is part of the Cammino Materano series of trails in the south of Italy (connected to the city of Matera). Specifically, the main branch of the Via Ellenica leads from Alberobelllo (Puglia) to Matera (Basilicata), while a variant/extension goes from Brindisi to Alberobello. The main branch is about 170km and the standard way to complete it is in eight stages.
The official website is here: https://camminomaterano.it/via/9/via-ellenica
There is a credential, stamps to collect, and a certificate upon completion.
Pilgrim Infrastructure
Way-marking is very good in both directions, with green and yellow markers (yellow for heading towards Matera, green for heading towards Alberobello, but typically the markers are placed in a way that you can see them going in either direction). Honestly, I think you could do this without GPS but it always makes sense to have it as a backup.
The official site above has a PDF guide for download (in Italian).
There is accommodation along the route, typically in B&B-type places (some of which are involved in the project and give pilgrim discounts), with one or two albergue-type places starting to pop up. There are often no towns between the end points of a stage, so you're pretty much locked into the stages. Ours varied in distance from 16km to 27km.
Difficulty
The official site rates the walk as 'medium' difficulty and each stage is graded as either easy or medium. I don't have elevation charts on hand but I would describe it as pretty flat overall. As always, there's a combination of road and trail walking, but it's mostly rural as this is not a heavily populated area.
Highlights
The two end points are World Heritage listed sites for their unusual traditional housing (the 'trulli' houses of Alberobello and the 'sassi' caves of Matera). Matera, in particular, is a truly extraordinary place. Most of the end-of-stage towns are interesting and worth exploring, and in general, the camino gets more and more interesting as you go along.
The two real highlights, in my view, are the gorges (called 'gravine' in plural) on the second half of the camino, and the lifestyle that historically grew up around them, consisting of rock-hewn churches (especially San Nicola with its frescoes), villages (especially below the city of Ginosa) and cities (Matera). Some of the most interesting towns (Castellaneta, Laterza, Ginosa, and Matera) are built on top of these gorges, and the trail also often goes on the rim of the gorges. These elements make this a unique camino and, in my view, a spectacular one in terms of natural beauty and historic sites.
Hospitality
In addition to the above, the real bonus and gem of the Via Ellenica is the hospitality shown to pilgrims. This was a complete surprise to me and sets it apart from all other pilgrimages I've walked, surpassing my previous gold standard in this field, the Geira e dos Arrieros.
There is a local association that manages the camino and the official guide lists a 'reference person' who lives in each end-of-stage town, who you can contact (or who may contact you first through the camino grapevine) for information, to arrange tours, or just to chat with a friendly local. The guide also lists accommodation and restaurants who are part of the project and have stamps and who welcome pilgrims through pilgrim menus and discounts.
Of all the great people we met, a special mention goes to the two 'Aunties' ('Le Zie'), who shower pilgrims with food and drinks and friendliness midway through the stage leading out of Martina Franca.
I should add that we spoke almost exclusively Italian with everyone we met, so language barrier could be an issue if you don't speak any Italian. Our friends were non-Italian speakers, but even then most people did not offer to speak English, so I would certainly assume that some or even most of these people don't speak much/any English.
Overall
I really loved this camino, more than the Magna Via Francigena that I walked a little earlier in Sicily. It's an amazing way to discover one of my favourite regions in Italy (Puglia) and to understand southern Italy, e.g. by seeing caves where people lived into the 1950s and 1960s. If you're looking for something a little different from a Spanish camino, and are possibly a bit short on time, and are keen on learning/practicing some Italian, the Via Ellenica could be the camino for you!
Photos
The trulli of Alberobello:
The view from the trail:
The Laterza gorge:
The cityscape of Matera:
Wendy crossing a bridge in the gorge below Matera in the early morning:
More photos here on Flickr.