Carlo Levi’s House of Confinement

Carlo Levi’s house in Aliano, in the province of Matera, is the home where the Turin-born writer and painter spent the period of internal exile imposed by the Fascist regime between 1935 and 1936. An anti-Fascist and a doctor, Levi had been sent to Basilicata because of his political activities. His experience in Aliano inspired his famous book *Christ Stopped at Eboli*, published in 1945: through his account of the village and its inhabitants, the author brought to light the harsh living conditions and isolation of rural Lucania.

The house is a simple peasant dwelling, preserved as a place of remembrance: the rooms and furnishings convey a picture of everyday life at the time, featuring items such as the bed, the cradle and the stable. The visit is enhanced by a multimedia exhibition that helps visitors understand the context of the confinement and Levi’s relationship with the village.

Rather than a house-museum brimming with precious objects, it is a modest and intimate place: visiting it allows one to imagine the gulf between the world from which Levi came and the rural reality he encountered in Aliano. Today, it is one of the places most closely linked to his memory and to the village’s literary heritage.