Matera
The City of Stones Matera, UNESCO World Heritage!
Matera and its cave city – Unesco world heritage site
Matera is a very special town because of its location mostly carved out of the rock. The ancient part of the city was named “I Sassi” after the caves and rocks. Because of the unique construction the city of Matera was declared a UNESCO cultural heritage in 1993. The city is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was one of the very first cave settlements. The beautiful cave structures have always harmonized very well with the surrounding nature and characterized this area over the centuries and the various historical epochs. This is also where the first underground settlements are located.
The city is about 45 km from the coast on a hill of 401 meters. For a beach holiday we recommend one of the most beautiful coastlines of the Basilicata region – the Castrocucco.
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
I Sassi are now the ancient city center and absolutely cannot be changed. The buildings were made with tuff. A well and irrigation system from the Bronze Age can still be admired today. An absolute must for every visitor to southern Italy.
The city of Matera has been a focal point for artists, writers, actors and directors over the centuries. The city is often referred to as the second Bethlehem, because even Mel Gibson was fascinated by this uniqueness and used the city as a location for his film “The Passion of the Christ”.
CITY TOUR
When visiting Matera, we recommend starting in the ancient district, namely at the Romanesque cathedral, a natural fortress in the heart of the ancient city, which, together with the two valley basins “Sasso Barisano” and “Sasso Caveoso”, is one of the most impressive places in the city. The cave structures of Via Casalnuovo are very well preserved. See a unique panoramic view over the valley below and residential buildings from the main square of the beautiful church of San Pietro Caveoso. Continue along Via Madonna delle Virtú to the Sasso Barisano district, a miniature representation of the Sassi and the museum of peasant culture.
Matera also offers a large selection of rock-hewn churches, which are worth a visit, not only because of the charming rock architecture, but also the fabulous interior decoration such as the Santa Barbara church with its impressive frescoes, the churches of San Pietro Barisano, Santa Lucia delle Malve, the rock complex Convicinio di Sant’Antonio, Santa Maria Idris and San Giovanni and last but not least the rock complex Madonna delle Virtù and San Nicola die Grecie, which presents an important and internationally renowned sculpture exhibition every year.
The park with spiritual places stretches for about 8000 h and counts over 150 rock-hewn churches as part of its heritage, as well as numerous settlements from the Paleolithic such as the cave Grotta dei Pipistrelli or the ceramics by Diana Bellavista or Serra d’Alto from the Neolithic.
Christmas in the south!
A special event is the Christmas nativity scene over the entire festivities, in which the park is decorated uniformly and the whole city is a single light. On this occasion, the Christmas market is also set up in the narrow streets of the city.
Let us seduce you into this fascinating city of Matera!
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