In 1950, the Italian government forcibly evacuated 15,000 people from the cave dwellings of Matera, declaring them a national disgrace — "the shame of Italy." Families had been living in caves with their animals, without running water or electricity, since the Neolithic era. The world moved on and forgot. Then, in 1993, UNESCO declared the Sassi of Matera a World Heritage Site. In 2019, Matera became European Capital of Culture. Today, those same caves are boutique hotels, Michelin-recommended restaurants, and contemporary art galleries. No city on Earth has undergone a more dramatic resurrection. And no city makes you feel the weight of human time quite like standing in a cave that someone carved with stone tools 9,000 years ago, now illuminated by candlelight, serving you orecchiette with breadcrumb sauce on handmade ceramic plates.
Plan my Matera trip →The Sassi (meaning "stones") are divided into Sasso Barisano (north, facing Bari — more developed, more restaurants and hotels) and Sasso Caveoso (south, facing the ravine — wilder, more atmospheric, more churches carved into rock). Between them sits the Civita — the medieval ridge with the cathedral. All three are UNESCO-listed and all three feel like walking through a city that exists outside of time.
The view that will stop you. Walk to the Belvedere di Murgia Timone (across the ravine, accessible by car or a 30-minute walk from town). From here, you see the entire Sassi complex spread across the opposite cliff — cave churches, terraced houses, winding staircases, the cathedral on top — and you understand viscerally that this is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world. People have been looking at this view for 90 centuries. The ravine below — the Gravina — has cave churches with 8th-century Byzantine frescoes still visible on the walls, accessible by hiking trails.
Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario (€5) — a preserved cave dwelling showing exactly how a family of 11 lived with their mule in a single room until the 1950s evacuation. The bed, the manger, the water cistern, the furniture — everything is original. This is the most powerful 15 minutes in Matera.
Rupestrian churches — over 150 churches carved into the rock, many with surviving Byzantine frescoes. Santa Maria de Idris (inside a massive rock cone overlooking the ravine, €5) and Santa Lucia alle Malve (8th-century frescoes, some partially damaged by shepherds who used the church as a stable) are the most impressive.
MUSMA (Museo della Scultura Contemporanea, €7) — contemporary sculpture inside a cave palazzo. The juxtaposition of modern art against prehistoric stone walls is extraordinary.
Matera's cuisine is the food of people who had almost nothing — and made it extraordinary. Pane di Matera IGP is a massive horn-shaped loaf made from durum wheat, baked in wood-fired ovens, and so dense and flavorful it needs nothing but olive oil. It stays fresh for a week. Every restaurant serves it, and it's the foundation of dishes like cialledda (bread soup with tomatoes, onion, and olive oil) and orecchiette con mollica (pasta with toasted breadcrumbs — a dish invented because cheese was too expensive).
From Neolithic caves to contemporary art, from bread soup to boutique hotels — we know Matera down to the last carved step.
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