You’d think, living in Italy for so long, that I’ve traveled almost every where. Not true. Of course there are some places I’ve been to quite a lot: Venice, Milan and Florence. At the same time there are entire regions I’ve never set food in: Calabria, Sardinia and Abruzze.
I go down to Puglia all the time, and have been to neighboring Basilicata’s most famous town, Matera often. Yet the rest of Basilicata remained a mystery until I went down to film an episode from Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie a few years ago.
I discovered this region thanks to my friend Dorothy Zinn, who owns a hotel in Matera, La Locanda di San Martino. She had suggested that my friend Evan Kleiman go deep into the heart of Basilicata to visit Angela Scuteri. Evan was working on a book proposal on the cooking of the region and according to Dorothy, Angela held the key. After Evan’s visit, and her subsequent article, I was just dying to go down myself. 
Angela’s hotel, Agriturismo Acaccia is located in an isolated region of Basilicata that was settled by immigrants from Albania 400 years ago, San Costantino Albanese. They still speak a unique dialect, and their cooking is completely different from the surrounding regions. Evan wrote a fantastic article about Angela and her cooking (which unfortunately isn’t online) , and I headed down with a film crew where we caught it all on film, for Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie.
Agriturimo Acaccia
San Costantino Albanese (PZ)
Basilicata
0973.91084
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Oh…I’m drooling…it all looks divine!
You should rate the film crew on a site such as http://www.icrewz.com/ next time.
maginificent, Elizabeth. I would love to go there on my next trip!
I am dying to go to go to Basilicata for a wine adventure. One of Italy’s secret wine treasures is there.
Nice photos!!
Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for this delightful video. If you have not been to Abruzzo, then you need to put it on your short list. My family is originally from the region, and there are many small towns (mostly nestled in the mountains) that time has forgotten. My mother and I are planning a trip to Carunchio in May to attend a cooking school (http://www.theinternationalkitchen.com/cooking-vacations/italy/abruzzo/sapori-dabruzzo). The trip will be extra special because my great great great great grandfather was born there in the early 1700s!
Love this post! The food indeed looks divine and made with so much love. I will look up the chef, uhm I mean “la mamma che cucina” when I visit Basilicata.
Do you have an update on Angela Scutari ‘s B&B?? Has it since closed after your visit? Thanks!
I haven’t been there in ages, but I think it is still there.