Matera: a millenary city
among the most fascinating places in Europe
The Sassi of Matera are among the most fascinating and ancient places in Europe, an extraordinary example of a human settlement that developed in symbiosis with nature.
This cave city is a testament to a continuous habitation that has its roots in the Paleolithic, a fact that makes it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Origins carved in stone
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PREHISTORIC ORIGINS
Among the caves of the Matera Murgia, the first men found refuge already in the Paleolithic, as revealed by ancient fossils and traces of prehistoric life. Over the millennia, those caves were transformed into rock-hewn dwellings, giving life to one of Europe's most fascinating and long-lived settlements.
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THE MIDDLE AGES
Over the centuries, the Sassi evolved, from simple shelters to an articulated urban complex, with dwellings, churches, oil mills, and cellars carved into the rock. During the Middle Ages, the area experienced remarkable development, thanks also to the arrival of Eastern monks who helped to perfect excavation techniques and build rock churches.
Matera UNESCO World Heritage Site
Recognition and rebirth
In 1993, the Sassi of Matera and the Park of the Rock Churches were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, recognizing their universal value as a unique testimony to a cultural tradition and a human settlement that has maintained a harmonious relationship with the natural environment.
Today Matera is an example of how history and modernity can coexist, with the Sassi which, after a long period of abandonment, have been restored and transformed into a cultural and tourist center of international importance.
