Matera (Matàrə in the Materano dialect) is an Italian town of 60
411 inhabitants, the capital of the province of the same name and
the largest municipality in Basilicat by area.
It is known
all over the world for the historic Sassi districts, which make it
one of the oldest still inhabited cities in the world. The Sassi
were recognized on 9 December 1993, in the assembly of Cartagena de
Indias (Colombia), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the first site in
southern Italy to receive this recognition.
In 1663 it was
separated from the province of Terra d'Otranto, of which it had been
a part for centuries, to become, until 1806, the capital of the then
province of Basilicata in the Kingdom of Naples. During this period
the city experienced an important economic, commercial and cultural
growth. Matera was the first city in the south to rise up in arms
against Nazi-fascism and it is for this reason among the cities
decorated with military valor for the war of liberation having been
awarded in 1966 the silver medal for military valor and among the
cities decorated with valor civil having been awarded the gold medal
for civil valor in 2016.
On 17 October 2014 it was
designated, together with Plovdiv (Bulgarian city), the European
Capital of Culture in 2019.
The Sassi Districts: Caveoso, Barisano, and Civita
The Sassi are
divided into two main districts separated by the rocky spur of the
Civita (the ancient core of the city):
Sasso Caveoso (the larger,
southern district): A dramatic cascade of cave homes descending toward
the Gravina ravine. Its streets wind steeply, with houses often stacked
on multiple levels—rooftops serving as streets for those above. Many
caves retain original features like rock-cut mangers (for animals kept
indoors) and cisterns for rainwater collection.
Sasso Barisano (the
northern district): Slightly more “urbanized” over time, with more
visible façades built in front of cave entrances. It features shops,
restaurants, and some of the best-preserved rock churches.
Civita:
The elevated ridge between them, home to the Cathedral and representing
the earliest fortified nucleus (with Roman-era walls).
Wandering
the narrow alleys (often staircases or tunnels) feels like stepping back
in time—the soft tufa rock was easy to carve, allowing seamless
expansion of living spaces, churches, and even stables. Many homes
included internal cisterns and natural ventilation systems adapted to
the hot, dry climate.
The Rock Churches (Chiese Rupestri)
Matera and the surrounding Murgia plateau contain over 150 rock-hewn
churches, monasteries, and hermitages—many frescoed from the 8th–13th
centuries. These are a highlight of the UNESCO site and part of the
Parco della Murgia Materana (Murgia Materana Park), which extends the
protected area beyond the city.
Key examples inside the Sassi:
Santa Maria di Idris (also called Madonna dell’Idris): One of the
most iconic, carved into a dramatic rock pinnacle jutting over the
ravine in Sasso Caveoso. It has ancient frescoes and offers panoramic
views.
San Pietro Barisano: The largest rupestrian church in Matera,
in Sasso Barisano. It features multiple naves, altars, and
well-preserved frescoes; it was later modified with a stone façade.
Santa Lucia alle Malve and San Pietro Caveoso: Both in Caveoso, with
frescoes and dramatic ravine-edge locations. San Pietro Caveoso sits
right on the edge overlooking the Gravina.
A short trip outside
the city (in the Murgia) leads to the Crypt of the Original Sin (Cripta
del Peccato Originale), nicknamed the “Sistine Chapel of rupestrian
art.” Discovered in 1963 and dating to the 8th–9th centuries
(Lombard/Benedictine period), this cave church features vivid frescoes
by the “Painter of the Flowers of Matera.” Highlights include Genesis
scenes (Creation, Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit—giving it its
name), triarchies of Apostles, the Virgin, and Archangels. A
son-et-lumière show enhances the visit.
Matera Cathedral (Duomo
di Matera)
Perched atop the Civita ridge at the highest point between
the Sassi, the Cattedrale di Maria Santissima della Bruna e
Sant’Eustachio (built 1230–1270) is the city’s most prominent landmark.
It exemplifies Apulian Romanesque architecture, with a sober tuff façade
featuring a 16-spoke rose window (symbolizing the wheel of
fortune/life), intricate carvings, and statues of saints (including
patrons Madonna della Bruna and St. Eustace).
The interior (Latin
cross plan) includes Romanesque pillars, a dome, Renaissance chapels
(e.g., Annunziata), a 13th-century fresco of Our Lady of Bruna, a
16th-century nativity scene inspired by local caves, and works like the
Last Judgment by Rinaldo da Taranto. It overlooks the entire Sassi and
is visible from nearly every viewpoint.
Other Notable Landmarks
and Experiences
Belvederes and Viewpoints: Essential for appreciating
the Sassi’s scale. Top spots include Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio (dei
Tre Archi) near Piazza Vittorio Veneto and Belvedere di Piazza Giovanni
Pascoli. Sunset or nighttime views (when the Sassi are illuminated) are
magical.
Palombaro Lungo: Matera’s largest underground cistern,
excavated beneath Piazza Vittorio Veneto in the newer “Piano” district.
It highlights the city’s ancient water-management ingenuity.
Cave
House Museums (Casa Grotta): Sites like Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario
reconstruct 19th–20th-century peasant life, showing multi-generational
families living with animals in single cave rooms.
Gravina di Matera
and Murgia Park: The deep ravine and plateau offer hiking trails, more
rock churches, and fortified farmhouses—extending the UNESCO experience
into nature.
Regional Context and Topography
Matera occupies a hilly, elevated
position in the transition zone between the Apennine-influenced interior
of Basilicata and the coastal plains toward the Ionian Sea. The province
as a whole features diverse terrain: hilly and mountainous areas inland
(part of the Lucanian Apennines), dropping toward arid badlands (known
as calanchi—deeply eroded clay gullies forming lunar-like landscapes)
and the fertile Metapontino plain near the coast.
The defining
topographic feature is the Gravina di Matera, a deep limestone canyon
(or ravine, locally called "la Gravina") carved by the Gravina river
(now largely a small stream). The city is built directly on the right
(western) bank of this canyon, which forms a natural geological
boundary: to the southwest lie the hill country of Basilicata (Lucania),
and to the northeast stretches the Murgia plateau of Apulia—a calcareous
highland.
The ancient core—the famous Sassi di Matera (divided into
Sasso Barisano to the north and Sasso Caveoso to the south)—clings
dramatically to the steep slopes of the ravine. These districts consist
of houses, churches, and entire neighborhoods carved directly into the
rock, creating a multi-layered, troglodytic (cave-dwelling) settlement.
The Sassi span approximately 12 levels vertically over a height
difference of about 380 m, interconnected by a labyrinth of paths,
stairways, alleys, courtyards (vicinati), and terraces. Two smaller
streams (called grabiglioni or Fosso Barisano) that once flowed into the
main ravine helped shape a defensible narrow promontory (the Civita, or
acropolis), where the cathedral and older structures sit atop the ridge.
The medieval city was effectively hidden and fortified by the canyon
edge when approached from the west.
The broader urban layout is
tripartite: the Sassi on the ravine slopes, the Civita on the central
high ground, and the later "Piano" (plateau) to the west, which
developed as the modern, flatter part of the city from the 16th–18th
centuries onward.
Geology
The landscape is dominated by
karstic limestone geology, typical of the Apulia Foreland. The upper
layers—where the Sassi are excavated—consist of soft Quaternary
(Pleistocene) calcarenite, a porous, easily workable sedimentary rock
locally called "tufo" (though it is neither volcanic tuff nor true tufa
limestone). This formation, known as the Calcarenite di Gravina,
overlies harder Cretaceous limestone visible lower in the canyon walls.
The rock originated as ancient seabed deposits that were uplifted by
tectonic forces, later shaped by subsidence, erosion, and karst
processes (dissolution by rainwater and ancient glacial/runoff waters).
The Gravina canyon itself formed through a combination of tectonic
fracturing, subsidence, and fluvial/karst erosion, creating steep walls,
fissures, caves, and fault lines. This soft upper rock allowed
prehistoric and later inhabitants to hollow out dwellings, cisterns, and
churches with relative ease, while the harder bedrock below provided
structural stability. The area is rich in natural caves, many of which
show evidence of Paleolithic and Neolithic use.
Hydrology
The
Gravina river flows at the canyon bottom, but it is ephemeral and
carries little water today. Historically, the rugged, porous limestone
terrain made surface water scarce, so ancient inhabitants engineered
sophisticated rainwater harvesting: bell-shaped cisterns carved into
houses, underground channels, pools, hanging gardens, and large public
reservoirs like the Palombaro Lungo (built 1832 under Piazza Vittorio
Veneto—a massive rock-hewn cistern with pillars and a high vault, once
navigable by boat). Seepage and collected runoff were carefully managed.
Nearby, the Bradano River valley and artificial Lake San Giuliano (part
of a regional reserve) add freshwater features to the wider area.
Climate
Matera has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen
Csa)—transitional due to its inland/elevated position but strongly
influenced by the nearby Ionian and Adriatic seas. It features mild, wet
winters and hot, dry summers. Average annual temperature is around
15.4°C (59.7°F).
Key monthly averages (approximate, based on
long-term data):
January (coldest): Mean ~5.9–6.3°C; lows ~2–2.5°C;
highs ~9–10°C.
July (warmest): Mean ~25.4–25.9°C; highs often
exceeding 30–33°C.
Annual precipitation: 525–600 mm (about 20–24
inches), moderate but seasonal. Wettest months are November–December
(~70–80 mm each); driest are July–August (~23–25 mm). Rain is
concentrated in autumn/winter; summers are very dry.
Snow is
possible but uncommon in the city proper (more frequent in higher
surrounding hills). The climate supports agriculture (wheat, olives,
vines) on the surrounding plains, while the rocky Murgia plateau has
sparser, drought-resistant Mediterranean vegetation.
Prehistoric and Ancient Origins (Paleolithic to Roman Era)
Human
presence in the Matera area dates back to the Paleolithic period, with
evidence of settlement possibly as early as the 10th millennium BC (or
around 7000–8000 BC in some estimates), making it potentially one of the
oldest continuously occupied sites in the world—often ranked third after
Jericho and Aleppo, though scholars debate exact continuity (some
suggest at least three millennia of unbroken habitation). Natural caves
in the Gravina ravine provided initial shelter for hunter-gatherers. By
the Neolithic period (from around the 5th millennium BC), people carved
their own dwellings and established entrenched villages on the Murgia
plateau, transitioning to agriculture and animal husbandry. Artifacts
from these eras are displayed in Matera’s Ridola Archaeological Museum.
The settlement likely has Greek roots tied to Magna Graecia colonies
along the southern coast, serving as a trade and transit point. In Roman
times, it became a more formalized town. Consul Lucius Caecilius
Metellus is credited with establishing or refounding it around 251 BC as
Matheola (or Meteola). Roman defensive walls encircled the early Civita
nucleus, but traces from this era are relatively scarce compared to
prehistoric and later layers. The site’s strategic, defensible position
on the canyon edge—largely invisible from the western approach—proved
advantageous through centuries of conflict.
Early Medieval
Period: Monastic Colonization and Shifting Powers (7th–11th Centuries)
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Matera experienced
successive rulers: Romans, Lombards, Arabs, Byzantines, and Normans. In
AD 664, the Lombards conquered it, incorporating it into the Duchy of
Benevento. During the 7th and 8th centuries, Benedictine (Western) and
Basilian (Eastern/Byzantine) monks colonized the nearby grottos,
transforming natural caves into hermitages, monasteries, and rupestrian
churches—a hallmark of Matera’s religious heritage. Over 150 such
rock-hewn churches and monastic complexes (some with Byzantine-style
frescoes) dot the Sassi and the adjacent Murgia plateau Park. These
began as simple hermitages and evolved into lauras (communities of cells
around central churches). Many frescoes date from the 8th–15th
centuries, with notable examples like the Crypt of Original Sin
(“Sistine Chapel of rupestrian art”).
Brief Arab/Islamic rule
followed the conquest of Bari (~840), but Byzantine influence dominated,
with periods of sieges, civic unrest, and shifting allegiances
(including Frankish and Lombard interventions). By the 11th century,
Normans arrived; the city was seized in 1064 by Robert of Montescaglioso
(nephew of Robert Guiscard) and later integrated into Norman
territories. The Cathedral of St. Eustace on the Civita was consecrated
in 1082, marking the growing urban core.
Medieval to Early
Modern: Feudal Rule, Expansion, and Social Stratification (12th–18th
Centuries)
Under Norman, Swabian, Angevin, and later Aragonese rule,
Matera expanded. The Sassi developed organically as a troglodyte
settlement: early houses were simple caves closed by excavated-block
walls, later gaining stone facades, vaulted ceilings, and multi-level
integration (streets sometimes running atop lower roofs). Caves provided
cool, constant-temperature spaces for storage (cellars, granaries,
stables, olive presses, cisterns for water collection via sophisticated
tunnel networks), while living areas fronted them. The population
included all social classes initially, with gardens and orchards.
In
the 15th–16th centuries (Aragonese period), defensive systems expanded,
and building grew on the Piano plain (Piazza Sedile became central). The
city was sold to Count Giovanni Carlo Tramontano in 1497; his tyrannical
rule led to a popular rebellion in 1514, in which he was killed. Later,
it passed to the Orsini and became part of the Terra d’Otranto before
serving as capital of the Basilicata province (1663–1806). By the
17th–18th centuries, a clear class divide emerged: elites moved to the
Piano, while the overcrowded Sassi housed peasants and artisans.
Earthquakes, famines, and plagues periodically struck.
19th–Mid-20th Century: Economic Decline and the “Shame of Italy”
After Italian unification (1861), Matera’s economy stagnated amid the
broader “Southern Question.” The Sassi became severely overcrowded as
poor families repurposed former storage caves as homes. Entire families
(often 6–10 people) lived with animals (mules, chickens) in single dark
rooms without electricity, running water, or sewage. Infant mortality
was high due to malaria, trachoma, dysentery, and malnutrition;
conditions were described as dire, with manure for heat and minimal
light from doors.
National attention peaked with Carlo Levi’s 1945
memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli (based on his internal exile in nearby
villages), which vividly portrayed the Sassi as a “tragic beauty”
resembling Dante’s Inferno—an “infernal crater” of poverty. Prime
Minister Alcide De Gasperi visited in 1950, calling it the vergogna
nazionale (“national shame”). A 1952 special law (Law 619) mandated
relocation of the roughly 15,000–17,000 Sassi residents to new modernist
housing projects on the Piano. By the late 1950s–1970s, the Sassi were
largely emptied, becoming a ghost town of ruins, crime, and decay. Many
former residents struggled with the loss of tight-knit courtyard
communities.
Modern Revival: From Abandonment to Cultural
Renaissance (1980s–Present)
Restoration began slowly in the 1980s,
driven by local activists like the Circolo La Scaletta cultural club
(founded 1959), who explored and documented the abandoned churches and
lobbied for preservation. A 1986 law facilitated reoccupation and
renovation (often by wealthier residents or entrepreneurs at nominal
cost with strict oversight). The pivotal moment came in 1993, when
UNESCO inscribed the Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches as a
World Heritage Site under criteria (iii), (iv), and (v): an outstanding,
intact example of a Mediterranean troglodyte settlement harmoniously
adapted to its geomorphological setting and ecosystem, with evidence of
continuous human occupation illustrating key stages in history.
Tourism exploded, turning caves into boutique hotels, restaurants,
galleries, and museums (e.g., MUSMA contemporary art museum). The Sassi
doubled as ancient Jerusalem in films like Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The
Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of
the Christ (2004). In 2019, Matera (with Plovdiv, Bulgaria) was named a
European Capital of Culture, accelerating infrastructure and cultural
programming. Today, around 3,000 people live in the Sassi (about half
the dwellings occupied), blending preserved heritage with modern life.
It remains a symbol of resilience—from prehistoric shelters through
conquests, monastic spirituality, feudal poverty, forced eviction, and
rebirth as a vibrant tourist and cultural gem.
According to some hypotheses (for example that of Cely Colajanni), Matera was formerly called Mataia ole by the Greeks, which derives from Mataio olos, whose meaning is completely empty, with reference to the Gravina, a ditch crossed by streams; further hypothesis is that the name derives from Mata (heap of rocks), a root used for various geographical names. Another theory, rather imaginative, derives Matera from the Greek Meteoron or starry sky, given that some chroniclers of the past, observing the Sassi illuminated at night, have described them as a reflection of the starry sky above. And there are also those who link the toponym to Mater or "mother earth", to Materia (matheria) or Materies, terms that indicated wood for cutting or building, in reference to the wooded areas where the city stood; in reality it was wrongly derived from the Latin materia, as it is originally a question of bases designating "the land of the ravine"; -eria is an entry with the meaning of "moat, gravina": happen. ḫāru, ḫarru, ḫarû (dig deep). Crossing of mātu with the base of happen. matāḫu (to rise). Gattini, on the other hand, refers the toponym to the Hebrew terms Matterah (prison) or Me terah (pure water). Others claim that the name derives from the initials of Metaponto and Heraclea, having welcomed refugees from the two cities after their destruction; finally Mateola, the ancient name of the city, could derive from the Roman consulate of Quinto Cecilio Metello Numidico, who rebuilt it and had it surrounded by walls and high towers, or from "terra alta": matu, Aramaic mata (earth) elû (high). Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis historia (Liber III, 105) called Mateolani the inhabitants of the city and listed them among the Apuli, even if the adjective ending in -anus clearly highlights the Oscan influence of the Lucanians, as the city was located right on the Apulian-Lucan border in the region formerly called Peucezia.
The Comuni Italiani website describes the city's
coat of arms in this way: Blue to the silver still ox with three
ears in the mouth and a lily crown on the horns, surmounted by the
letter M, all in gold. Motto: Bos Lassus Firmius Figit Pedem.
The Latin motto Bos lassus firmius figit pedem can be translated
as: the tired ox sinks its paw more firmly; this motto, which
indicates how a peaceful people but tired of abuses can rebel
against the yoke, represents the moral of the episode that saw the
people of Matera rebel and assassinate Count Giovan Carlo
Tramontano.
According to Racioppi, the coat of arms of Matera
is a talking weapon, as the letter "M" at the top would be the
initial of the city name, while the ears in the ox's mouth would add
the rest of the name; in fact spiga in Greek is said "Ather-Eros",
therefore from the set of words we get Mather-Eros, from which
Matera. The crown that the ox has on his head would indicate that
the city was free, that is, not dependent on any feudal lord but
directly on the royal crown.
According to other
interpretations, the shield bears on the top of the field, in
silver, the letter M in gold; and in the lower part of the field is
an ox that the heraldists use to say "passerby", with three ears of
corn in its mouth. A princely crown surmounts the head of the ox.
Around the edge of the shield runs a list on which the motto of "Bos
lassus firmius figit pedem" is written. The saying was perhaps
coined after the killing of Count Gian Carlo Tramontano, expressing
the tiredness of the oppression and the taxes that the citizens of
Matera had to pay to the count. As for the shield, the letter M in
gold is presumed to indicate the initial letter of the name of the
city. But according to others it would also indicate the word town
hall having been Matera Regio Demanio, and therefore directly
dependent on the king. This also explains the reason for the
princely crown on the ox's head. Therefore, the figure of the ox
remains the most difficult to decipher. There are those who believe
that the ox indicates the Del Balzo family, which comes from the
French baux, whose phonetics closely resemble the word ox. Others
firmly believe that the ox and the ears symbolize the possession of
fertile lands dedicated to pastoralism and agriculture. The ears, on
the other hand, have a certain similarity to those of the
Metapontine coinage, which gives greater certainty about the name of
Matera, which could derive from the founders of the city, the
citizens of Metaponto and Heraclea, who escaped the Romans. So
Met-Hera.