Matera

Sassi Caveoso (Matera)
Sassi Caveoso (Matera)
Private house in Sassi Caveoso (Matera)
Private house in Sassi Caveoso (Matera)
Sassi Caveoso (Matera)
Sassi Caveoso (Matera)
Sassi di Matera

The fall and the rise


Numerous films by famous directors have been made in Matera

Standing on the panoramic viewing point above the ancient town of Matera in the region of Basilicata in southern Italy, the concept of time passing is somehow transcended as you gaze in mild disbelief at the scenery in front of you. For a few moments you feel yourself being transported back through the ages as if by instant time travel.

The town of Sassi (stones) of Matera seems to have grown randomly, if not organically, right out of its very own rocky ground. The stones extracted to make cave dwellings on the inside have been use to build new and extended housing on the outside. Alternating from one level to the next the houses and caves below make up the pathways and streets for the houses on the level above. In some places part of the rocks – the earth itself – is still exposed, blending almost seamlessly with the limestone brick walls of the constructed buildings. On the other side of the spectacular Gravina canyon you see the many palaeolithic caves, dark holes in the wall of the soft tuff limestone of the Murgia plateau, looking back at you from the beginning of mankind…

 


 

The prehistoric caves of Matera
A view from the prehistoric caves
A view across the gorge, above the caves
A view across the gorge, above the caves
Reading under the olive tree
Reading under the olive tree
New Matera
New Matera

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