Anyone who sees Matera cannot help but be awe-struck, so expressive and touching is its sorrowful beauty
Carlo Levi
Matera is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, and I bet that you have never heard of it. We hadn’t until it was named the 2019 European Capital of Culture. The historical center “Sassi” contain cave dwellings from the Paleolithic period and is recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. “Sassi di Matera” means Stones of Matera. Prehistoric settlers dug out their dwellings and places of worship from the soft volcanic tuff. Matera stands atop a rugged ravine which has a small stream running through it called La Gravina, and the best view of the town is at La Belvedere viewpoint on the opposite side.
From here, you can see why Mel Gibson picked this place to stand in for the Holy Land when they filmed “The Passion of the Christ”. The old town is crooked and crumbling with a honeycomb of uninhabited cave dwellings layered on top of one another.
As we ventured through town our first evening, we truly felt like we were taking a step back in time and were in awe of the rugged landscape.
Across the ravine, simple forms of the Neolithic caves where people lived 7000 years ago stare blankly back at you.
Our dinner reservation was at Il Terrazzino, a restaurant just off the main pedestrian walkway with numerous churches, restaurants, and shops. A nearby terrace overlooking the Sassi gave us the opportunity to appreciate the multiple layers and maze-like quality of this town.
Dinner was a simple yet delicious pasta dish. The region is known for its ear-shaped pasta called orecchiette, so we tried the restaurant’s signature dish: orecchiette with sausage and mozzarella baked in a clay pot.
The views of the Sassi from the restaurant’s terrace at night with the twinkling lights was enchanting.
As mentioned in our last blog, one of the best activities in Italy is just wandering the cobblestone streets of the historic town centers. And that is exactly what we did the following day. Matera is a labyrinth of narrow passages, winding staircases, tiny courtyards, and jumbled cave dwellings that is absolutely fascinating to explore.
Around every corner we found a breathtaking new view.
The rock-church of Madonna de Idris is probably one of the most symbolic images of Matera. The church was carved out of the rock face on a hill above the ravine in the 12th century.
Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside any of the ancient rock churches, but imagine the limestone walls with deteriorated frescoes of religious figures. Just below the rock-church also overlooking the ravine is the baroque Catholic church San Pietro Caveoso.
The MUSMA museum is one of the most important sculpture museums in Italy and internationally recognized for its unique cave exhibition space. The Sassi caves provide the perfect background for the contemporary sculptures.
The Church of the Purgatory, built in the 1700s, has an unusual theme of death with skeletons and skulls decorating the façade and wooden door.
The Matera skyline is dominated by the bell tower and Romanesque façade of the 13th century Duomi di Matera.
In Sassi Caveoso in the lower town, most of the caves remain empty. Exploring the silent, empty lanes and wandering up and down the staircases through the cobblestone passageways truly gives you a sense of what life used to be like here.
We visited a reconstruction of a 20th-century cave dwelling. People lived here in poverty until the 1950s with no running water, plumbing, or electricity and shared the caves with their animals (horses, pigs). There was normally a small kitchen in one corner, a stall for the animals in another corner, and then a sleeping area with a bed and chest of drawers. Notice the small toilet right next to the bed.
Poverty and disease were widespread, and the city was considered the “shame of Italy”. The government finally stepped in and moved the people out of the cave dwellings and into public housing in the developing modern city outside the historical center. Today, many of these caves remain uninhabited and dangerous. However, the city has started to focus on tourism and has renovated many into restaurants, hotels, and shops. We enjoyed pre-dinner drinks in a cave at a brand-new luxury hotel with a restaurant called La Dispensa Aquatio.
We were craving pizza for dinner, and one of the best pizza spots also was in a cave.
We weren’t sure if we stumbled upon an attempt to liven up the city for tourists or just a lovely gesture for the locals, but we were pumped when we fortuitously came upon a mini food festival highlighting the regional cuisine. Even better…it was all free!! What!?!? Wine, focaccias, fruit tarts, lentils, pasta…we enjoyed trying little bites of everything and the free-flowing wine.
Italy is all about the appreciation of good food and wine, so we had no trouble finding quality food in Matera. Just look at this heavenly charcuterie tray that we had as a mid-afternoon snack at a little café we discovered as we wandered through the ancient Sassi.
From being labeled the “shame of Italy” in the 1940s to being awarded the 2019 European Capital of Culture, Matera has come a long way in recent years. Add in the gorgeous rugged landscape, the prehistoric cave dwellings, the unique Rupestrian churches, a tumultuous history, and the amazing Italian vibe, and you have a perfect vacation destination.
Omg this is a place I would love to visit. My mouth is salivating just looking at the cheese and olive plate! David would eat that entire try. Lol
I absolutely love the architecture and history. I’ll bet it was easy to picture life as it was. Love you guys thanks for sharing.