The Region Food and Wine The Activities

Matera

Recognized by the Rough Guide to Italy as one of its “33 Things Not to Miss, Matera is a most outstanding, intact example of an ancient inhabited zone, with the first zone dating from the Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history.

Taking advantage of the soft limestone in the Gravina Valley, various besieged inhabitants including the Benedictine order of monks, found safety in the sassi (the caves in the rock) on the steep face of the ravine. The "sassi houses" are all windowless grottoes with damp walls and earthen floors, where the family's animals slept side-by-side with the humans. However, this rock town had intricate hydraulic systems that kept water fresh and cool year round. Over time, the caves were adorned with façades and roofs, but the interiors remained virtually unchanged. The ancient quality of the Sassi led Mel Gibson to set his ”Jerusalem” here for his movie The Passion.

Considered too primitive by the national government of the 1950’s, it forcibly evacuated over 15,000 residents. Today, however, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized as an extraordinary spot, and the Sassi Caveoso and Barisano make for a great day of exploration. These quarters are now under renovation as people come back to this unique lifestyle.

The vibrant new town above the Sassi is also worth exploring with a number of romanesque and baroque churches dating back to the middle ages, and museums ranging from expositions of the region’s history through to modern art. An evening stroll along Via del Corso in the Civita (the heart of the City) will give you a taste of the local flavor.

Of special note, if you visit in early July (july 2) , make sure to involve yourself in the local festival procession for Festa della Madonna Bruna that culminates with the Madonna on a cart made of paper mache pulled by eight mules. When the procession ends, the statue of the Madonna is removed and the crowd assaults the beautiful cart tearing the soft paper mache apart to take obtain a relic of that year’s parade.