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Matera has a lot going for it – it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, European Capital of Culture 2019 and a cave city dating back over 5,000 years. Tour its historic lanes and ancient cave dwellings, try local Basilicata food and wine, then choose to visit the cave house museum or a rupestrian church. Anna, one of our expert local guides, says, ‘The cave houses of Matera were once considered a shameful place to live, best known for poverty, disease and crime. Nowadays, many caves have been transformed into chic homes, restaurants, and hotels.'
Considered one of the most outstanding and intact troglodyte settlements, Matera's big draw are the ancient cave dwellings known as ‘sassi', which translates to ‘stones'. First up, we'll check out the baroque quarter, where churches and palaces are built on top of the caves. Next, we'll venture into the Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso areas to see ancient sassi carved into the flanks of Gravina canyon. The dramatic setting overlooking the wild, rocky landscape is all part of the charm.
You'll pause for thought in the old quarters, where inhabitants lived in squalor up until the 1950s, which was when the whole population of around 20,000 was rehoused. Wandering around today's visually arresting town, it seems hard to believe how tough life once was here. You'll also get to try typical food and wine at Lucany Restaurant, before choosing between an optional visit to the cave house museum or a rupestrian church, cut into the rock.
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