Matera, Italy
Ever walked through a city carved entirely out of stone? Matera isn’t just a destination, it’s a journey back in time. Where limestone cave dwellings turn into boutique hotels and candlelit dinners are served under ancient arches.
Two years ago today, I wandered through the ancient city of Matera, nestled in the southern Italian region of Basilicata - alongside the Puglia region - an area fast gaining popularity every year.
Matera is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its “Sassi” cave dwellings carved into limestone. It’s dramatic, cinematic (literally - James Bond ‘No Time To Die’ opening scenes were filmed there), and yet it is still under the radar for many tourists unaware of it’s beauty.
The area is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, with a history going back more than 9,000 years. These caves became homes, then communities, and eventually evolved into complex, layered urban dwellings. It was once dubbed the "shame of Italy" due to poverty and poor living conditions in the caves.
Under the Romans, Matera was known as Matheola and became part of the Apulian region.While the Romans didn’t leave grand temples or roads like in other parts of Italy, Matera quietly thrived, farming its harsh land and trading along southern routes.
Monks fleeing persecution in the East also settled here, bringing with them iconography and religious art, creating the unique rock-hewn churches Matera is now famous for.
Despite its rich cultural roots, Matera struggled economically for centuries and by the 1800s and early 1900s, the Sassi were overcrowded and unsanitary. Entire families (and their animals) lived in one-room caves with no running water, electricity, or sewage. Disease and infant mortality were high.
In the 1950’s The Italian government declared the Sassi a national disgrace. Between the 1950s–70s, around 15,000 residents were forcibly relocated to modern housing in new parts of Matera. The Sassi were abandoned and left to decay, becoming a ghost town.
The tide turned in the 1980s when locals and creatives began pushing to restore the Sassi. Slowly artists and architects moved in; The caves were repurposed into hotels, galleries, and restaurants and tourism started trickling in.
Today it is an ever-increasing popular tourist destination and a fascinating place to spend a day or two.
On my visit in 2023 I did a day trip from Bari where I was based for a few days. However I regret not spending a night in Matera and seeing the ancient town lit up. There are a vast array of boutique cave hotels you can stay in and an incredible choice of restaurants to enjoy a glass of wine to watch the sunset and the lights of Matera flicker....
If you plan on a trip to Italy, be sure to add Matera to your Itinerary, it really must be seen to be appreciated.
