Of the many visitors who every day arrive to Matera from all over the world, Americans are among the most numerous. And even those who are more enchanted by the wonders of this great city and its territory. If you heard and you saw how enthusiastically cast their spell! Even more intense when in their veins Lucan blood flows.

I’ve already told in the pages of this blog the story of the Canadian couple that after visiting the Sassi with me wanted to go to Marsico Vetere (PZ), from where the grandparents of the lady left  a century ago: they had obtained the phone number of a cousin and had asked me the favour of calling her to announce the visit, since they don’t know a single word of Italian .

Some time after I had told the story of Griffin Nelson professor of University of Dallas who has taught  in Rome for a few years and whose family is originally from Potenza. One Sunday in March two years ago he joined a group of Neapolitan and Sicilian families for a guided tour of the Sassi and then promised himself to come back. In fact a year later he was back here in Matera in the company of his colleague Liz, whom the day before had brought to Potenza for a brief visit.

Signora americana

Evelyn, an american lady with roots in Ferrandina (MT)

And since last week, Lucans of America are coming in droves to rediscover their roots: first Evelyn (in the picture) with his mother, who the day before had been in Ferrandina (MT) to know the country and even visit the house that grandparents had left to emigrate to Wisconsin; two days later, then, the happy family of Mariel, a small tribe with daughters, grandchildren and genres that were thinking about a trip to Ripa Candida (PZ), a small village in the province of Potenza where her parents were born and lived before leaving to Virginia.

You know, I love to travel, and one of the next trips will be just to the USA, crossing them coast to coast from New York to Los Angeles. In the meantime, however , welcoming to Matera many Americans with Lucan roots I have the opportunity to visit the United States of…Basilicata!