The village of 'Christ Stopped at Eboli' among the badlands
On a crest of clay surrounded by a spectacular landscape of calanchi, the badlands eroded by water into ridges and gullies of grey and white clay, Aliano is a small village in the province of Matera which has become famous throughout the world thanks to a book. In 1935–1936, the painter, doctor and writer Carlo Levi, from Turin, was sent here into confinement by the Fascist regime for his anti-Fascist activities, and he lived here for about a year among the peasants. From this experience was born his masterpiece, "Cristo si è fermato a Eboli" (Christ Stopped at Eboli), published in 1945, in which he describes, with deep humanity, the poverty, the isolation, the beliefs and the dignity of the people of Lucania, a world so forgotten that, as the peasants said, "Christ stopped at Eboli", without ever reaching it. In the book, Aliano is called "Gagliano".
Today, Aliano preserves the memory of Levi in the Parco Letterario Carlo Levi, with the house where he lived during his confinement, the Museo della Civiltà Contadina, which displays the tools and objects of peasant life described in the book, and a pinacoteca with paintings and lithographs by Levi, who painted many portraits of the inhabitants and landscapes of the village. Levi loved this place so much that he asked to be buried here, and his tomb is in the village cemetery, overlooking the badlands. Walking through the village, you can see the places described in the book, such as the houses with "eyes" and the belvedere over the calanchi, a landscape of lunar beauty.
Tip: read "Christ Stopped at Eboli" before your visit; walk to the belvedere over the calanchi at sunset.
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