Italy: Sassi di Matera is a city of cave hotels. About travel, orientation and everything

The Italian city of Matera is the oldest settlement in the southern part of the country. It is located in the region of Basilicata. Matera is considered the best preserved example of an ancient cave settlement. From the point of view of the degree of value for world culture and science, this city can be given a well-deserved first place among similar settlements throughout the Mediterranean. A feature of the city of Matera is that the first local settlements date back to the Paleolithic period.

In 1993 italian city Matera has been added to the UNESCO list.

On a tour of the ancient city, you can see fantastic cave houses, cut right into the thickness of the rock and called in Italian "sassi" ("stones"). According to scientists, the age of the most ancient Sassi is about seven thousand years.

There are also more “younger” buildings here, the time of the construction of which is eloquently evidenced by churches erected presumably in the 6th century. The ceilings and walls of some churches in this so-called "cave" city of Matera are decorated with frescoes from the 11th and 12th centuries, which have been perfectly preserved to this day.

Caves carved into soft limestone and home to ancient settlements are now widely known among modern people. And this was greatly facilitated by the turbulent cinematic history of this region of Italy. The city of Matera with its colorful atmosphere and unique architecture can be observed in huge number Hollywood films.

Here they filmed the Holy Christian Land, and medieval Spain, and pre-war Sicily. And everywhere the streets of Matera served as natural and incredibly believable scenery for the unfolding action. The most famous paintings, the success of which was ensured, among other things, thanks to such decorations, are The Gospel According to Matthew, King David, The Passion of the Christ and others.

After the release of the above films, Matera, absolutely unexpectedly for everyone, has already acquired a new role for itself: this city has become very popular among tourists. In terms of the number of visitors, it can compete with such Italian cities as Parma, Lucca, Bari and Verona.

Tourists are attracted here, first of all, by the peculiar beauty and unusual landscape. Similar structures can only be seen in the Crimea (Ukraine), Cappadocia (Turkey), as well as in some regions of China, Georgia and India. However, in no other place will tourists have the opportunity to see caves in which such wonderful frescoes have been perfectly preserved, as in the cave city of Matera.

In addition, the southern Italian city of Matera has many other sights that every tourist who visits the province of Basilicata must have in their collection. By the way, best photos Italy can be viewed on the tourist site tourister.ru. There are various and interesting photos Italy, admiring which, you will be seized by a great desire to visit this magnificent country.

Other attractions in Matera include the Cathedral Square, the Ridola Museum, the excellent Cathedral and some others. Having been in Italy on an excursion in Matera, a tourist should also not miss the opportunity to visit local restaurants and taste amazing dishes. local cuisine. In summer, you can visit the annual St. Mary's Festival, which includes traditional fun fairs, various shows, concert programs and an incredible final fireworks display.

Book a hotel in Matera

To explore the sights of Matera, in particular the cave city of Matera, you will need somewhere to settle. Especially for you, below are the hotels of Matera, divided into three categories: popular hotels, luxury hotels and cheap hotels. Here you can book a room in the Matera hotel in advance according to your wishes and financial possibilities. For your convenience, here is information about the location of hotels relative to the city center, as well as the number of stars.

Simply select the hotel you like by clicking on the "View Hotel" button. Next, you will find yourself on a page where you can book a hotel. There is also more detailed information about it, reviews, ratings, photos, location on the map, features and, of course, prices.

If you wish to see other hotels, you can simply select the city "Matera" from above, and you will see a list of all Matera hotels available for booking.

*** This story is a fragment of a big story about a trip to Puglia: "Puglia and Matera - experiences without diving". It is clear that a passage taken out of the general context, by definition, loses a lot, so it is best to read the entire story in its entirety - if you wish, it is very easy to find it!
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Drive from Bari in Matera is very simple. You just need to come to the station (such a yellow, two-story, shabby) line FAL and take the next train that leaves from binario uno, that is, from the 1st path. True, there are still a couple of organizational snags here, and I want to draw attention to them. So: in the photo below, on the “handmade” sign installed at the dead end of the 1st path, it says: MATERA GRAVINA.

But if you carefully look at the FAL route scheme, you can see that after Altamura the road just forks: one branch goes to Gravin(which is "-in-Puglia") and further - to Potenza, and the second - to Mater where it ends. Therefore, initially it is very important to get on not only the right train, but also the right carriage. Because the rear cars don’t even reach Altamura, I still don’t understand where the “burnashes” unhooked them, but the essence of this does not change. And those who, with God's help, still get to the Altamurov fork, then also disperse: one car goes to Matera, and the other to Gravina.

My experience was this: the 1st car of the train departing from Bari went to Matera, and from the 2nd in Altamura it was necessary to transfer to the same first. Most likely, such an algorithm is repeated from time to time, but since I'm not 100% sure of this, I recommend that in Bari, before getting on the train, ask a local employee (and they will definitely be on the platform) which car is running to Matera. True, it is possible that they will also show the one that will then go to Gravina (as was the case in my case), so, firstly, just in case, learn a phrase like “direct or with a transfer?” and ask the attendant. And in Altamura, in a very extreme case, check with fellow travelers in the car whether this car will go to Matera.

I hope that I didn’t confuse and intimidate readers too much with this alignment, but what to do - as they say, “forewarned is forearmed.”

But on the way back, everything is much simpler: you just need to get into the car with the sign “ bari centrale". If you find it, of course. Joke.

According to its technical equipment, both trains and stations, the road FAL significantly inferior to the FSE line. It seems that the last re-equipment here took place in the 60s. However, only later, on the way back, the thought occurred to me that it was right to travel to a city like Matera in such trains - to enhance the surroundings, to immerse yourself in the atmosphere already on the way. Toilets in the cars, by the way, are available, only the state of the corresponding. Neither water (which is from the tap), nor paper may be there, keep in mind!

In the urban area of Bari, the train was moving very slowly, but as soon as it left for the suburbs, it suddenly rushed so that it even became scary. For him, of course :)

Among the other passengers in the car were three men in their 50s, as I understand it, to some kind of offsite work event. They were dressed very interestingly: one in a suit according to all the rules, the other in a suit, but in sneakers, and the third in a jacket, shirt and tie, but in jeans and sports shoes. But it's not that. It turned out that in terms of market value, three Italian men are not inferior to ten Spanish women (and I thought it was difficult to compete with them). Moreover, two of them sat side by side, and the third (with an abundance of empty seats in the car) - a couple of rows away - as if specifically so that all three could fully train their vocal cords. I endured for about 20 minutes, and then moved to the other end of the car, but still sighed calmly only when the whole overly energetic trinity (what a plot for advertising morning coffee!) came out somewhere halfway.

As before Alberobello, the journey to Matera takes a little less than 1.5 hours at exactly the same ticket price - 4.5 euros. Please note that the train makes several stops in Matera, and you need to get off at the main - matera-centrale located, like a subway, underground.

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Sorry, beloved Spain! Sorry, Toledo, Cuenca, Trujillo, Cáceres and Santiago de Compostela! Excuse me, Mont Saint-Michel and Carcassonne, Siena and Dubrovnik, Kotor, Mdina and other museums under open sky! You are good, certainly good, you are star cities of the world and European caliber, but you are not even close to Matera!

Lord, I'm very worried. Because the time has come to tell about the main impression of this trip, and the city that I have to talk about is very special. To say that he is amazing, magnificent or amazing (even though he is) is just shaking the air for nothing. it super masterpiece, which is difficult to compare with something else and which is even more difficult to describe in words.

Of course, Matera cannot be put on a par with large and multifaceted cities that you can (and should!) watch for several days, each time finding something new. Istanbul, Barcelona, Paris… Everyone will add something different to this list. But in the conditional nomination "the city of a single impression" Matera will not compete even with Rome. Yes, yes, I am perfectly aware of these words. Walking around Matera, the phrase constantly revolved in my head: “ It's like Rome. Only cooler».

Unfortunately, in expressing my impressions of Matera, I will not be able to count on the support of photographs. And it's not about the quality of the photo as such. Everyone knows that people are divided into photogenic and not. Wake up the first ones in the middle of the night after an evening drinking bout - but still a handsome hand-written man will come out in the photo. And others - like in life and good looks, but take a picture of them - it turns out ... well, you yourself understand :)

Cities are like people, in many ways. And the concept of photogenicity is also characteristic of them. Only here we are not talking about prettiness or ugliness, but about the extent to which the photos convey or not "live" impressions. I remember what feelings of admiration I experienced while standing inside the Colosseum during my very first trip to Italy, and how disappointed I was when I later saw my own photos. It seems that everything is correct, but that impression - the scale, grandeur, sacredness - is not at all. Or the Alcazar of Seville, which has lost its charm in the photo. But Kordovsky, on the contrary, sparkled with new facets. Locorotondo on my own photos then seemed to me even more interesting than “live”. And sometimes - Trani and Alberobello are examples of this - the photos just quite adequately convey the mood and spirit of "online".

Matera, unfortunately, is not like that. Her photographs will only show (and only partially) what my eyes saw, but they will never convey the emotions that they cover there. However, even in the film of such a maestro as P. Pasolini("Gospel according to Matthew") Matera does not look too expressive ( M. Gibson in The Passion of the Christ, and did show it only a few times for a couple of moments, exclusively as a background background).

Perhaps I have already cried enough about my difficult fate, but the story has not advanced a single step from this. When you don’t know what and how to write, it doesn’t hurt to remember a couple good advice: "Where to begin?" - "From the beginning" and "What to write about" - "As it was - write it like that." Armed with these simple principles and the support (on which I count) of my Angels, I will begin the story of Matera.

The best and generally the only correct card Sassi- the historical center of Matera, from which you will feel at home there, can be downloaded from the tourism website of the province of Basilicata:

http://www.aptbasilicata.it/fileadmin/immagini/opuscoli_informativi/2010/mappa_Matera_fronte.jpg

The same card can be obtained from the local tourist office.

Acquaintance with Matera for most travelers who come here by train begins with Piazza Vittorio Veneto(Vittorio Veneto) - large and beautiful, able to decorate more than one European city:

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Beautiful Church Mater Domini, formerly owned by the Knights of Malta:

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Government Palace, which houses prefecture Matera:

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By the way, Vittorio Veneto(I became interested in the meaning of these words, which I did not know before) - by no means a historical character, as you might think, but the name locality 60 km north of Venice, near which in 1918 an offensive operation of the Entente troops took place, a significant part of which were Italian divisions, as a result of which the Austro-Hungarian army opposing them capitulated.

From the square, through the crown of street vegetation, fragments of the facade beautifully open Church of San Francesco da Paola on the street on September 20th:

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Another morning and treno turistico is only preparing to receive the first passengers, in which later, if you please, there will be no shortage:

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If you walk along this street past the train, then literally after a hundred meters we will find ourselves on a small S.Rocco Square, where we will see the first of the pearls of Matera - the Church of John the Baptist (Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista):

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The church was built in the 13th century for nine nuns who came here from Palestine and was called Santa Maria La Nova, or Santa Maria ai Foggiali. It received the name of John the Baptist after its revival and reconstruction at the end of the 17th century.

The church is amazing - both outside and inside! And even more so from the inside. Even the interior of the old cathedral in Molfetta cannot be compared with it - and it was amazingly good! Despite a number of alterations, the interior of the Church of John the Baptist recreates a real medieval atmosphere - mystical and sacred. Being here, you understand how insignificant and even ridiculous are attempts to imitate proximity to Heaven with gold and wealth, which is the main sin of the Orthodox Churches. No, Heaven is here - in simplicity, in unostentatious asceticism, in humble and silent attention to the word of God resounding in the depths of one's own heart, and not in verbose, noisy and often demonstrative prayers that overwhelm modern churches.

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In significantly best quality you can enjoy the interiors of the Church of John the Baptist in a beautiful video on the page http://www.basilicatanet.com/movie/index.asp?nav=materasangiovannibattista.

Fragments of the remarkable side facade of the church:

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Another "unidentified", but very authentic church, fully consistent with the spirit of Matera:

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But all this was just a saying: to a fairy tale, i.e. we haven't even started the real old Matera yet!

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Old city Maters are often referred to as " Sassi"(Sassi), which is the plural of the Italian word sasso - a rock, or just a stone. And this most accurately conveys the essence: Matera is a city carved into the rocks and a city built on the rocks. This is a city where buildings and the surrounding their landscapes have merged with each other so much (including in color) that they have long been a single and harmonious whole.It seems that the houses, the churches, and even the cathedral, whose campanile crowns Matera, like the top of the New Year's Christmas tree, grow directly from the rocks (and, in fact, it is!), Like mushrooms from a stump.Here it is sometimes difficult to find the difference between a stone street or a ladder carved in the same stone from an ordinary mountain path, and caves (both natural and and man-made) differ from houses only in the absence of doors and windows. "There are houses built over caves - at various angles, of all sizes, periods and styles. They rise upward in terraces; there are no roads, there are only narrow passages and steps leading up or down. There is also no building plan. The houses resemble termite mounds rather than human habitation." (G. Morton)

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Speaking of Matera, they almost always talk about the terrible poverty and unsanitary conditions in which they lived locals in the Sassi caves until the 50s of the last century and cite as an example the famous novel by Carlo Levi " Christ stopped at Eboli”, where the author tells from the years of exile spent in these parts (“A terrible description”, according to G. Morton). But I do not want to pedal this topic. In the end, what was - it has long passed, and today Matera does not at all give the impression of a poor and unhappy city. What is largely facilitated by the money of tourists flocking here from all over the world.

By the way, it cannot be said that the relocation of the "cave" inhabitants (almost 20,000 people according to G. Morton) to comfortable dwellings took place under general rejoicing. Morton pointed out that "... some caves are filled with concrete. It turned out that the city administration is fighting in this way with residents who want to return from new apartments to their unsanitary houses." Well, you can probably understand somewhere the people who have lived here all their lives, which certainly had not only dark sides: "The sun looked into one still inhabited cave and brightened an old bent woman washing clothes in a wooden trough. Noticing me, she smiled and invited me in. The cave turned out to be spacious. The doors may have come here from some old church. They were at least fifteen feet high, thick and paneled. In the corner stood a bed many times wider than an ordinary double bed. Above it were icons, including the image of the Madonna della Bruna, next to it was a color photograph of the late President Kennedy. She said that one of her four sons worked in Pittsburgh for a road construction firm. Her husband was born in this cave, she came here as a young wife over fifty years ago and gave birth to five sons and six daughters on this very bed. It looks like the whole family slept together on this bed. Happy time. She looked at us, and her old wrinkled face expressed concern. The woman thought that we were from the municipality and began to ask us to let her stay in this cave and not move to new town. While she was talking in the local dialect with my traveling companion, I noticed a donkey tied to a ring. Several chickens were running around the cave. You may think this is unhygienic, but this scene made a beneficial impression on me.."

When walking around Matera, I sincerely recommend following, at least at the beginning of the journey, the large external route marked on the map with a blue line ("From Sasso Barisano to Sasso Caveoso"). Almost immediately after the Church of St. John the Baptist, they begin to come across here viewing platforms- artificially constructed or natural (i.e. opening in the space between buildings), from where you can admire the views of the old city:

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However, as G. Morton noted, "this place seems even more incredible when you walk on it, and not look down at it from one of the platforms". And if the temptation to go off the beaten path into one of the arcades, sometimes resembling a secret passage, and go down the steps cut into the rocks becomes too strong - do not resist it!

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Labyrinths of stone streets attract and fascinate. That's where you can let yourself get lost without regret, that's where you can wander endlessly while still carrying your feet (don't forget the main secret of a successful visit to Matera - shoes, shoes and more shoes!). Each new descent or ascent, each new turn is fraught with another secret, another discovery, a new unexpected view that makes you turn on the camera again and again, put in the bag because of the seemingly already sufficient number of photos. And a wave of admiration, which has not yet had time to settle down after the previous angle, covers the soul again and again. Not, Matera is truly amazing. !

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What else is special about Matera? She does not need people - unlike, for example, from the back streets of old Bari. The spirit of Bari is a product of man. And if we imagine, purely hypothetically, that for some reason (God forbid that this never happens!) the inhabitants leave Bari, then it will cease to be itself and turn into Chernobyl - cold, devoid of soul and life, in which I personally it would be disturbing and unpleasant (I'm generally not a fan of "stalker" travel).

Mother is self-sufficient. Her soul is not in people - it is in her rocks, in her stones, in her sassi. She herself is alive, and she will be alive even if not a single person remains in her. It is not people who inhabit Matera - it is she who inhabits herself with them and allows them to live here. And a person who does not feel the mysticism and mystery of the "soul of Matera" will never feel at home here. But the one who comes into contact with them even superficially will forever strive to return here.

View of Monastery of St. Augustine(the highest point of the blue route):

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Along the eastern outskirts of Matera, a sufficiently deep and picturesque gorge called Gravina, along the bottom of which a small stream flows:

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On a small square, almost hanging over the gorge, is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, better known as the church Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso:

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This is one of the oldest churches in Matera, founded in 1218. But it acquired its current appearance much later: in the 17th century a new facade was built, and a century later - a bell tower. Unfortunately, the position of the sun did not allow us to take better photos, so I suggest watching this is really very beautiful place on the panoramic page http://www.italiavirtualtour.it/dettaglio.php?id=1794 .

Somewhere in old Matera:

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One of the attractions of the Sassi are cave churches and monasteries. They owe their appearance to the monks who moved here from the east and brought with them the architectural traditions of Anatolia, Antioch and Syria. Therefore, in the grottoes and rock temples, one can observe a mixture of various religious styles. Of the many large cave churches that exist in Matera (http://www.comune.matera.it/it/turismo/le-chiese-rupestri), as a rule, five are distinguished: Santa Lucia, Madonna de Idris and San Giovanni in Monterrone, Convicinio di Sant'Antonio, San Pietro Barisano, Santa Maria de Armenis and Santa Barbara, of which four are actually available today: 3 with a single ticket (http://www.sassiweb.it/matera/cosa-sono-i-sassi/chiese-rupestri), and Convicinio di Sant'Antonio- for a fee.

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Concerning Convicinio di Sant'Antonio- I would refrain from advice at all costs to visit him. If you see a couple of churches from the list above, I would venture to suggest that you will not find anything particularly new for yourself there, so there are reasons to make a special detour (this is clearly visible on the map - the very end of the blue route is on the bottom right) for it I frankly, I don't see it. You can make the final decision by watching the video dedicated to the monastery on the page http://www.italiavirtualtour.it/dettaglio.php?id=1795 .

In general, to see the ancient cave churches, in my opinion, is curious, but no more than that, if you are not a specialist in the field of religious painting. Therefore, I would not dare to recommend making a big emphasis on visiting them and building a route just for them.

In addition to rock churches, and Materya, you can see enough of the caves in which people lived half a century ago. In some of them, small museums of the life of Casa Grotta are arranged. But why pay money for an artificial entourage, when you can see the same caves nearby for free, but in a much more authentic form (in fact, in the same way they were left).

Matera is one of the most famous Italian cities, located in the Basilicata region perpendicular to a small gorge. These territories were inhabited by people as early as the Paleolithic, and the city itself, presumably, was founded by the Romans in the 3rd century BC. under the name of Matheola. In 664 Matera was captured by the Lombards and made part of the Duchy of Benevento. In the 7th-8th centuries, the surrounding caves were inhabited by Benedictine monks and followers of the Greek Orthodox Church. In the following centuries, fierce battles unfolded on these lands between the Saracens, Byzantines and German emperors, and Matera was repeatedly destroyed. After the Normans settled in Puglia in the 11th century, the city came under their rule. Only in the 15th century did Matera become the possession of the Aragonese dynasty, and later it was even the capital of Basilicata. In 1806, the capital title was transferred to Potenza, and in 1927, Matera became the administrative center of the province of the same name. Interestingly, in 1943, the inhabitants of Matera were the first in Italy to revolt against the Nazi-German occupation.

All over the world, Matera is known for its "sassi" - antique dwellings carved right into the rocks. These Sassi are considered one of the first human settlements on the territory of the Apennine Peninsula. Many sassi are ordinary caves, and the streets in some of the frequent "stone city" are located directly on the roofs of houses. In the 1950s, the Italian government forcibly relocated the inhabitants of the Sassi to modern city, however, in recent decades, some families have returned. Today, Matera can be considered the only place in the world where people live in the same houses as their ancestors about 9,000 years ago. Many sassi have now been turned into luxury hotels and restaurants, and the entire complex was included in the list of World Heritage Sites in 1993. cultural heritage UNESCO is the first in southern Italy.

In addition to the Sassi, Matera has preserved numerous religious buildings, including churches carved into the rocks, which are considered one of the most interesting local attractions. An important architectural monument is the Cathedral of Santa Maria della Bruna, built in the 13th century in the Apulian-Romanesque style. Other notable churches are San Pietro Caveoso and San Pietro Barisano. Also worth seeing is the unfinished Castello Tramontano from the early 16th century. There is also the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the Middle Ages, the Museum of Peasant Civilization and the Museum of Modern Sculpture in Matera.

October 18th, 2014

Sassi di Matera is an ancient part of the small modern town of Matera in Italy. It is located in the east of the country and resembles a Roman amphitheater with grottoes hiding terraces. It has been proved that the place of Sassi was inhabited in the Neolithic era, has a rich history, including architecture, archaeological finds.

Today Sassi is the historical center of Matera, which is located in many limestone rocks that form the gorge of the small river Gravina. Carved living quarters and underground churches can be seen in the rocks. Historians are inclined to assume that the age of underground dwellings is 9 thousand years.

The old town of Sassi is an interweaving of houses, caves and chapels. In the Middle Ages, on the outskirts of the Sassi, in grottoes, commoners lived, and in the central part of the city - the aristocratic elite. Today the caves are a tourist attraction. Museums are open in some grottoes, where the old atmosphere of the old city is preserved.

You can spend both day and night in the cave city, or you can stay in cave houses, where 18 comfortable rooms are equipped. Part of the hotel is located in the building of a medieval church.

Built of stone and carved into the rocks, churches, palaces, along with underground catacombs and reservoirs, give the Sassi an attractive appearance. The Sassi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Let's find out more about this city...

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The core of the city originated on the opposite slopes of the river valley, called the crevice of Gravina di Matera. During the time of Magna Graecia, it was a Greek city, the center of which was Civita. Today, the Cathedral, built in the 13th century, rises here. In the Roman era, the city was fortified with a wall, and numerous grottoes and rocky massifs began to be used to build village dwellings, so quarters of the Sassi. Since the time, the quarters have grown, the labyrinth of limestone houses-grottoes has increased and the quarters began to be called Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, Civita remained between them.

Sassi (translated as "stones") is the historical center of Matera, located in a rocky pit and consisting of three districts: Sasso Caveoso, Sasso Barisano and Civita. This place has been inhabited since the Neolithic era and has a very rich history, well illustrated by the architecture and archaeological sites located in the territory of the Sassi. It can be said that as a residential area, Sassi was formed under the influence of various civilizations. In the prehistoric era, villages protected by trenches were built here, and in the period from the 9th to the 11th centuries, when the peoples of eastern origin inhabited the Sassi, the area began to take on an urban outline - a system of streets, sewers, water reservoirs appeared. The Norman-Sevian settlements of the 11th-13th centuries were marked here by powerful military fortifications; they were followed by the Spaniards with Renaissance architecture (15th-16th centuries) and the 17th-18th centuries brought Baroque architecture here.

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The city had many vegetable gardens and hanging gardens covered with vaults. During the Renaissance, these arches were used for burials, and it turned out that living people lived in the dungeon, and the dead were buried above the ground. At night, the inhabitants lit torches near their dwellings, and to those who looked at the city from the top of the hill, it might seem that in front of him was another sky strewn with stars. This sight impressed travelers so much that the origin of the name of the city of Matera was mistakenly associated with the Greek word "meteora" - the starry sky. Despite the many transformations that the Sassi has undergone over the centuries, the city still retains its ancient outlines in its layout, which, from a bird's eye view, resemble the shape of a Greek omega. The slopes of the hill were cut by irrigation canals, through which water flowed from reservoirs located on a hill, filled with rainwater. The main components of the city were courtyards with wells, around which there were entrances to living quarters and a bakery. Such courtyards also defined the fundamental cells of the Sassi society, since life between its inhabitants has always been marked by solidarity and cooperation. Sunlight entered the dwelling from above - in summer, falling perpendicularly, the rays could not heat the room, and in winter, falling at an angle, the light penetrated deeper into the grottoes and warmed them. In addition, the proximity of large stone masses, which served as natural radiators, allowed all year round keep the temperature in the houses at about 15 degrees.

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In the 8th century on the ground Matera many Byzantine monks moved, who built churches in the grottoes, similar to those that can be found in Cappadocia (Turkey) or in Syria.
Local residents, who were in a difficult financial situation, built their homes in Sassi using natural grottoes. The streets of the cave city were narrow with many steps and ladders.

In 1623 Matera became the capital of Basilicata and remained so until 1806, then Napoleon Bonaparte moved the capital to Potenza. It was the best time for Matera.
Local residents experienced great difficulties with water. Therefore, they spent their energy not on building houses, but on digging channels and trenches in limestone to collect water and a system of various cisterns. Water was used not only in the economy, but also for rural work. The village of trenches, so they called Mater.

A channel for collecting water into a cistern located in one of the houses. Matera. Basilicata. Italy.

Thanks to this ancient practice, the inhabitants Matera turned their city into a green place, with hanging gardens, orchards and trees.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the demographic boom that had begun four centuries earlier reached its apogee. Additional floors were being built on the houses, vegetable gardens, pastures and hanging gardens, stone cisterns were adapted for one-room apartments in which people managed to live with mules and sheep.

After the Second World War came out Carlo Levi's book "Christ Stopped at Eboli", in which Levi wrote about the unbearable living conditions in the Sassi di Matera.

He was exiled to the south of Italy for anti-fascist remarks, having arrived in Mater He was horrified by what he saw. In the 1930s half of the population lived in caves, due to the heat, many houses were open, dogs, sheep, goats and pigs lay on the floor. “Most families had only one cave, and everyone slept together in it - men, women, children and animals.”

He compares Sassi to a huge funnel, evoking the majestic image of Hell from Dante's Divine Comedy. However, Levi's image turned out to be more than just a poetic metaphor: excessive overpopulation caused a social and sanitary collapse, as a result of which, in the 50s, residents were forced to move from the Sassi to other places. People began to re-populate here only decades later, starting in 1986.

Carlo Levi saw Mater at a time when the population had grown to its maximum size. There was not enough space and more floors were built over the caves. Hanging gardens and kitchen gardens were no longer planted, and huge families lived in unsanitary conditions, without sewerage, without observing elementary hygiene standards.

Now Sassi is alive again.

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Then arose "Mather's problem", which has grown to the size of the "shame of the nation." And in 1952, they decided to move the residents to new quarters, freeing the cave houses. At that time, about 15 thousand people lived in Sassi. Many of them did not want to leave their homes and returned back, then the authorities walled up the entrances to the caves with cement.
In 1993 Sassi di Matera(Sasso Caveoso, Sasso Barisano and Civita) have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

After Sassi di Matera became uninhabited, they became the scenery for many films. Pier Paolo Pasolini filmed The Gospel According to Matthew in 1964 and Mel Gibson filmed The Passion of the Christ in 2004 here.

Sassi di Matera were built in different centuries and by different civilizations. Prehistoric traces have been preserved here, churches covered with frescoes of the 7th century. and rocky buildings of the IX-XI centuries. and later. AT Sasso Caveoso grotto houses have been preserved, some of them can be visited.

Matera. Basilicata. Italy.

For example, historic house on vico Solitario, which reproduces the atmosphere of those times when it was inhabited.

In the middle of the room is a high bed on which the whole family slept. Under the bed there is a pot, a trough and other utensils that were taken out during the day. There is also a stall for animals and a dining table. A kitchenette in a separate small room, another room was used as a utility room, a "hole-pipe" - to collect snow, which melted and gave precious water.

Light came into the house from a small window upstairs. The temperature in the houses was almost constant 15 degrees, the tuff in which the dwellings were arranged worked as a climate control.

Matera. Basilicata. Italy.

Church of San Pietro Caveoso, built in 1218 on a small area is one of the most characteristic and bright places in Matera. In the 17th century The church has undergone many changes and acquired a baroque look. Inside there are art paintings and frescoes.

Church of San Pietro Caveoso. Matera. Basilicata. Italy.

Cathedral rises above Sassi. It was erected in the 13th century. in the Civita quarter, which bisects the two Sasso. It has been closed for restoration for many years, and once belonged to a Benedictine monastery. The cathedral is distinguished by a beautiful sharp rose-shaped window and a 52-meter bell tower. The famous Byzantine fresco Madonna della Bruna is kept in the cathedral.

AT Matera more than 130 churches and chapels. In cave churches, stalactites and stalagmites serve as columns, uneven walls have preserved traces of Byzantine frescoes.

Today, the cave city is a popular tourist destination. There are no street names or house numbers, and long lanes can end in a dead end. The entrances to many caves are walled up or clogged, but you can find passages and get inside.

The Sassi is a real "cultural landscape" - that is how it is called in the records of world heritage UNESCO to which it is included. In the Middle Ages, ordinary people lived in the outskirts of the Sassi, and the aristocratic elite occupied the central part of the city. This part of the city was built on the site of the ancient acropolis, which still holds many surprises. The area of Sasso Barisano, located in the northwest at the edge of the cliff, is the richest in various sculptural portals and friezes, which are hidden in underground catacombs. The Sasso Caveoso area, located to the east, looks like a Roman amphitheater with grottoes from which terraces open. In the center of the Sassi is the Civita region, which is a rocky ledge separating the other two regions, on top of which rises Cathedral. The UNESCO-protected archaeological zone also includes the Murgia plateau and the gorge of the Gravina di Matera river, where unique underground churches are located.

Photo 6.

The panorama of the Sassi is a truly bewitching spectacle, when the labyrinths of galleries on the mountain range open before your eyes, which for centuries guarded the mysterious city, as if it had come out of some kind of oriental fairy tale. Natural grottoes, underground catacombs, ponds, farmsteads, churches and palaces built of stone or carved into the rock coexist here, forming an amazing and harmonious natural and urban landscape. The path to Sassi lies through arcades resembling secret passages. The baroque and renaissance façades are built here on 8th century stone water reservoirs, which were adapted for habitation. Byzantine churches contain wells used in antiquity in the rituals of the cult of Mithras. Some ancient catacombs were used for housing until the 50s of the 20th century, others were abandoned and hidden in the depths of the hill. Under piazza Vittorio Veneto is home to a huge reservoir called the "Long Diver" (Palombaro lungo), some sections of which were built three thousand years ago, while others were completed in the 18th century.

Photo 7.

Among the underground catacombs of the Sassi are huge monastic complexes, with many cells and unique underground churches carved in stone. Their construction is associated with the arrival of the Basilian monks in Sassi around 1000 AD, who brought with them the architectural traditions of Anatolia and Syria. In underground churches, one can observe a strange mixture of various religious traditions: Orthodox iconostases in Catholic-type basilicas; on Byzantine frescoes, where the Mother of God is usually depicted as a queen, there are accessible folk images. In addition to historical sights, one of the grottoes houses the largest museum of modern sculpture "MUSMA", a unique collection of which contains exhibits illustrating the development of Italian and foreign art from the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century. Some of the grottoes where people used to live have now also been turned into museums, where the original furnishings have been preserved or reconstructed, allowing the visitor to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the life of the old Sassi.

Photo 8.

The picturesque landscapes of the ancient city constantly attract filmmakers. Several films have been filmed in the Sassi, including Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. In Japan, they even created an anime called "Ghost of Matera", where the action takes place in the catacombs of Sassi

Many tourists come to ancient city to, as if by a time machine, be transported to the Middle Ages. In addition, the traditions of old artisans and workshops have been preserved in Matera. Here, as before, simple local dishes are prepared: homemade pasta is cooked, bread and bakery products are baked from Matheran wheat.
From now on, as before, Sissi is the pride of Matera. Local entrepreneurs have turned the ghost town into a tourism hub with hotels, clubs and bars. This was made possible thanks to government subsidies, which allowed more than half of the old city to be rebuilt.

Photo 9.

Not so long ago, an unusual hotel was opened here, the rooms of which are located right in the caves. Now tourists will be able to feel like cavemen (troglodytes) of a primitive society, without breaking away from their usual comfort.

Photo 10.

Unusual hotel city appeared in the neighborhood of the town of Matera. It is located in the medieval cave settlement of Sassi, where in 1948 about 20 thousand people lived. Hundreds of caves and 155 churches were carved into the rocks behind Matera. On the this moment All of them are under the protection of UNESCO. In this regard, it seems like a real miracle and a gift for tourists that 18 caves have been recently rebuilt into boutique hotels.

Photo 11.

The hotel town called Sassi di Matera has become a unique experiment in integrating modern technology into the atmosphere of the medieval past. At the same time, they managed to find a non-standard solution and not turn the cave complex into an ordinary theme park. At first glance, the doors and rusty keys give the impression that this is the entrance to an old barn. Meanwhile, the rooms are full of light and look quite comfortable. The restored cave hotels have everything from comfortable seating to Wi-Fi and luxurious bathrooms. In addition to the walls, beds suspended a meter above the floor on metal cables remind of the past in some hotels. This is a tribute to the ancient traditions of the Sassi. AT medieval city people lived in the same caves with animals, and hanging beds guaranteed them relative privacy from livestock. But the animals produced additional heat and warmed their owners.

Photo 12.

The Sassi ranges from simple 3-star hotels and guesthouses to luxurious apartments. Accommodation costs 66 euros and more, and breakfast is included in the price. The unique cave city welcomes guests from April to October.

City: Matera
Category: architecture

Matera, city Italian region Basilicata, can rightfully be considered the most unusual city Italy.

Firstly, the settlement of this place took place in the Paleolithic era and since that time people have not left these places.

Secondly, "I Sassi di Matera" - the old districts of the city of Matera, these are very unusual houses, carved right into the rock, in soft and pliable limestone for processing and perfectly adapted to the features of the local landscape.

Thirdly, Matera is rightfully considered a place, and the only one in the world, where people live in the same houses as their very distant ancestors. And they began to live in them about nine thousand years ago.

And fourthly, the preservation of this cave settlement makes it possible to observe important stages in the development of history.

In general, the old districts of Matera are entire streets and quarters cut into rock formations, which in some places have retained their appearance corresponding to urban development. The oldest of the cave houses are already in a very respectable age. They are about 7 thousand years old. They look simpler than younger ones, whose age is determined by a thousand years. These are already made with more artifice and have a more complex structure. Churches, also carved into the rock, are even younger - they were founded starting from the 6th century. Their main decorations are frescoes painted much later - in the XI-XII centuries.

This whole place is a kind of ode to human labor, patience and invention, the ability to use a meager set of improvised materials that nature gave him. And a special talent not to destroy the ancient buildings, but, on the contrary, to preserve them, makes I-Sassi di Matera even more inimitable and unique.