Visit Aliano: Tourists stop at Eboli too
Visit Aliano: If you have ever visited the small town of Aliano in Basilicata, you will never forget where Carlo Levi wrote his famous book “Cristo Si E Fermato a Eboli“ – about how Christ and Christianity never penetrated il mezzogiorno south of the town Eboli.
Today Alianohas only 1000 inhabitants, but they are ever so proud of their claim on the fictional Gagliano that every house, every square, every wall and even some trees sport a small quote from the book. Midway between the old and the new town, a bronze bust of Levi on a pile of stones from observes town life and the scenery. And even the cemetery is geared for sightseeing.
We walk around between grave walls and wonder why Italians even in the after life prefer to live in high rises before we finally find Levi’s grave between the two cypress trees, he describes in his book. On the grave is a pile of smaller stones.
– Levi was a Jew, and it is a Jewish custom to place stones on the grave, an elderly American couple explained. The four of us seemed to be the only tourists in town on this fine summer day in the high season.
The American had read the book and seen the movie so many times that he knew the story by heart, and he told us what the cemetery meant for Levi, who to the great disappointment of the villagers never returned to Basilicata after 1936, when he escaped from his exile. He was, nevertheless, buried in Aliano, where people have been expecting a boom in Levi tourism ever since.
They have built a large parking lot in the centre of the town that still hangs perilously on the edge of the abyss, but now they can at least accommodate large air-conditioned coaches that conquer the 28 hairpin bends of the only road to town. Still, the tourists are not exactly queuing to visit the place. Apart from the American couple we see no foreigners. Most tourists apparently follow Christ’s example and stop at Eboli. In this sense Aliano has not changed over the last 70 years. As a Carlo Levi quote on a walls says:
“Gagliano a prima vista non sembrà un paese, ma un piccolo insieme di cassette, bianche, con una pretesa nella loro miseria”
If you visit Aliano, you might also want to see:
Eagles over Basilicata
When in Aliano be sure to have lunch at the Pizzeria Amici di Levi……great pizza and wonderful views.
I’ve read the book, seen the movie and been to the town. It was a moving experience to actually see the place, walk in his house and see his paintings. At one point, an old woman invited us in for coffee – a woman whose father had been cared for medically by Levi. I would love to return some day.
What a beautiful memory – there still is a special synergy between the town, the book and the movie and I’d love to have met someone with personal relations to Levi, like the woman you talk about.
When more Americans see this great movie CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI, there will be more tourists to Aliano. i hope to be there next spring.
You have really got something to look forward to. Aliano is an enchanting place in a truly fascinating landscape.
I want to know how he ended up getting buried in Matera even though he never returned except in death? Who did that and why?
I’ve visited his grave in Aliano, not Matera, and according to the Italian wikipedia his body was buried there in order to keep the promise to return he had made to the inhabitants, when leaving the village. It also says that in reality, Levi returned to Basilicata several times after World War II, as proved by the numerous photos kept in the art gallery dedicated to him in Aliano. In these photos Carlo Levi can be seen in various locations along with his personal friends and the characters portrayed in his most famous book.
I understand that Carlo Levi requested to be buried in Aliano and his daughter complied with his wishes.
Matera is the province (are you sure you read the book? There are constant references to Matera as the central province and Gagliano as a minor municipality that belonged to Matera
Yes, I have read the book, and yes Matera is the province which contains Gagliano and Aliano. My point was to stress that you have to visit the village of Aliano, if you want to see Carlo Levi’s grave. It is 85 km and a 2-hour hairpin drive from the city of Matera.