Matera, Basilicata

Matera is a beautiful city that dates back as much as 11,000 years. It is said to be one of the oldest cites in the world. Settlement began with the caves in the side of the Gravina or canyon that were also gradually enlarged. The 1st picture looks across the Gravina to the cliffside where are the caves are located. This picture also gives a sense of the steepness and depth of the canyon by the footpath up the far side with the switchbacks.
Over time they moved across the gravina. Into what bacame known as the stassi. Stassi means stones. The dwellings were in large part caves that were excavated plus a small constructed section in front, entirely built of stone. Another post gives a lot more about these cave houses. The 2nd and 3rd pictures look at a couple of the stassi. Even thought the stassi had no running water or plumbing, they were occupied until the middle of the 20th century when the Italian government built new dwellings for all the residents. The stassi were the abandoned. Now they are being restored and updated.
The 4th picture is of a natural rock formation atop the cliff. It has been excavated to build not 1 but 2 complete churches inside.
The 5th picture is a square in the upper city. The wealthy 1% lived up here, and there was minimal contact with the poor residents of the stassi. There was some, though (see another post).
The last picture is one of the 141 churches in Matera that they know about. As archaeology continues, more churches just might be found. This picture is of the "purgatory" church with skulls and bones as the motif. I'm told these were built as part of the Counter- Reformation to try to lure protestants back to the Roman Catholic church.Read more