Before tour guide was my full day job,  I practiced journalism for years. They are two professions that have so much in common: in the first case we write, in the other we speak but the goal is the same, to communicate. And the fuel that feeds them is the same: passion. And let’s say it all, even a bit of narcissism: I still remember the great pleasure I felt when I saw for the fist time my signature at the end of an article published in a newspaper. But when your name appears inside an article itself, the pleasure is sublimated. It has happened to me several times, but a few days ago I was even quoted in a piece written by the Canadian journalist and writer Tracy Wilson.

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The passage of the article by Tracy Wilson about Matera in which she mentions me

I had the pleasure to guide her in Matera for a whole day in September, we had been on the Murgia, then we had done the bread workshop and finally the tour of the Sassi. And in the end, like so many other travelers who have traveled the world before arriving here, she too was overwhelmed by emotion: “This place is like nowhere else I’ve ever been” . Pure pride: I was born and raised in this place, I live in this place. I learnt her incredible story, thanks in large part to a native son who shared his Matera with me. Luigi Mazzoccoli, an engaging and enthusiastic guide, grew up exploring these old cave dwellings and knows every nook and cranny of the Sassi”, she writes in the article.

It was an honor and a pleasure to me dear Tracy, it fills my heart to transmit the passion for my land to people who come from all over the world and make them love it as I do.
Matera is now your home and you will always be welcome here. I’ll wait for you soon!

 

You will find the interesting blog of Tracy here, you will be engaged.