Explorations of a city where people built their houses in caves!
Matera is a Southern Italian city located in the arch in Italy’s boot. I’ve wanted to go for a long time. However, Matera isn’t the easiest place to get to even today, especially if you were coming from the toe of Italy’s boot. Luckily, I was able to catch a bus from Cosenza and arrived in the afternoon.
Matera is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its Sassi. Matera has been occupied for maybe 7,000 years. Although, some scholars say 3,000 years. The Sassi are homes dug into limestone cliffs. Many Sassi would be stacked on top of each other, with walkways connecting them. Not all homes in the historic center of Matera are Sassi. However, they are also mostly built with local limestone, making Matera unique.
Jana Irving The medieval city of Matera. The houses and other buildings cling to canyon edges.
Jana Irving The top of the city, with the cathedral and other public buildings, was once called Civita, from the Latin word for city. The settlements coming down the hill were called the Sassi.
Jana Irving A very fancy building.
Jana Irving Some areas are up to 12 levels of buildings.
Jana Irving I decided to go check out the cathedral before it closed for the day. It was a bit of a climb to get up there.
Jana Irving Matera was so much fun to explore, even with all the up and down required to do so.
Jana Irving Small courtyards were common.
Jana Irving Layers of buildings.
Jana Irving Cattedrale di Maria Santissima della Bruna e Sant’Eustachio is a gorgeous Apulian Romanesque cathedral from the 13th century.
Jana Irving You enter the church from the side. There is a small gallery, a sacristy. and then a much older church under the floors of the current cathedral.
Jana Irving The cathedral was updated to a more modern style in the 17th century.
Jana Irving A gorgeous painting on a wooden ceiling.
Jana Irving San Pietro Caveoso, built on its own little outcrop.
Jana Irving Santa Maria di Idris, one of the churches that were carved out of the cliffs.
Jana Irving In the 16th century, the center of power in Matera moved out of the old city. By the 18th century, most wealthy elites had moved out of the Sassi to this new area. The Sassi was left for the peasants.
Jana Irving I took an early morning stroll around Matera on my second day. Found this gorgeous church, San Giovanni Battista.
Jana Irving Some stacked sassi.
Jana Irving The sassi were lived in until the 1950s. By that point, most were in bad shape and didn’t have modern amenities. However, the decision was reverse in the 1980s. Many sassi have been restored. However, there is one section of town that is not. The entire area was closed off for construction.
Jana Irving Found a rock cut church, San Vito, that was free just randomly walking around.
Jana Irving Very simple inside. Others have paintings on the walls.
Jana Irving Finally the inside of a sassi. Laboratory Museum of Rural Life has several connected sassi decorated to a time period or for traditional trades.
Jana Irving Cisterns that held collected rain water were often below the main dwelling.
Jana Irving Many residents would run business out of their sassi, like this tannery.
Jana Irving That thing in the wall is a press for grapes or olives.
Jana Irving Perched on the edge.
Jana Irving A much smaller sassi, Casa Grotta.
Jana Irving Tiny little kitchen.
Jana Irving You would also share this space with your farm animals.
Jana Irving More sassi down the cliff a bit.
Jana Irving An unrestored area of sassi. You can really see the stacking of the sassi here.
Jana Irving Matera from the other end of the historic center.
Jana Irving Matera was one of my favorite places I visited on this trip.
Jana Irving Who couldn’t love this.
Matera was one of those cities I just loved walking around in. There are several small museums dedicated to the sassi and rock cut churches. The national museum was pretty decent as well. It would be perfect for a weekend getaway. However, it is almost impossible to get out of Matera on a Sunday.
Check out my next update where I explore the small Italian city of Altamura!
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Start at the beginning of this adventure.
