Matera, Cave dwellings in Basilicata, Italy
Description
Matera is a city in the Basilicata region of southern Italy known for its cave dwellings carved into rock. The settlement spreads across terraced limestone cliffs at the edge of a ravine, with houses and churches built directly into natural caves and stone walls.
History
The cave settlement was continuously inhabited for thousands of years until the government relocated residents in the 1950s due to unsanitary conditions. Restoration and repopulation of the abandoned districts began in the 1980s.
Culture
Local bakers sell traditional Matera bread baked in wood ovens that stays fresh for up to two weeks. Many former caves have been converted into restaurants and guesthouses where visitors can experience the historic architecture firsthand.
Practical
The old town sits on high ground and requires a lot of walking up steep stairs and uneven stone pathways. Comfortable shoes are necessary as the streets can become slippery, especially after rain.
Did you know?
Over 150 rock churches sit within the cave districts, some with well preserved medieval frescoes. The water collection systems of carved cisterns and channels once supplied thousands of residents without external sources.
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Basilicata is a region in southern Italy where nature and history are woven together in unexpected ways. You can walk through cave houses carved into rock thousands of years ago, explore medieval castles perched on hillsides, and hike through protected nature reserves. The landscape shows layers of...
Basilicata stretches between the Apennines and the Ionian Sea in the south of Italy. This region invites you to see varied landscapes, villages built on the rocks and a history that goes back to ancient times. Matera, listed as a world heritage site, shows its Sassi, old homes carved in limestone....
Matera Cathedral
421 m
Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera
5.6 km
Cave churches in Matera
2.1 km
Riserva naturale orientata "San Giuliano"
9.2 km
Chiesa di Santa Maria di Idris
586 m
Castello Tramontano
348 m
The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera
341 m
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista
158 m
Castello del Malconsiglio
14.3 km
Palazzo Lanfranchi
571 m
San Francesco d'Assisi
308 m
Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
605 m
Chiesa del Purgatorio
366 m
Convento di Sant'Agostino
470 m
National Museum of Matera
429 m
Palazzo del Sedile
348 m
Chiesa di Santa Lucia alle Malve
666 m
Santuario della Madonna di Picciano
11.8 km
National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Basilicata
550 m
Museo della Scultura Contemporanea
510 m
Palazzo Malvinni-Malvezzi
417 mBosco Difesa Grande
18.5 km
Villaggio Saraceno
7 km
Conservatorio Egidio Romualdo Duni
348 m
Palazzo dell'Annunziata
57 m
Palazzo Bernardini
396 m
Chiesa di San Domenico
43 m
Santuario di Santa Maria della Palomba
1.4 kmDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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