The Sassi di Matera are two areas, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, located in the Italian city of Matera in Basilicata. These areas are famous for their ancient cave homes, which have been inhabited since the Paleolithic period.

Fodor's has described the "Sassi" as "one of the most unusual landscapes in Europe." Together with the Rupestrian Churches park, the Sassi di Matera were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.

History

The Sassi are homes carved into a type of rock called "tufo," which is found in the regions of Basilicata and Apulia. This rock is not volcanic tuff or tufa limestone. The Sassi are believed to be among the earliest human settlements in Italy, with evidence showing people lived there as far back as 7000 BC. These homes were built into the sides of a hill formed by the Gravina River, which is known locally as "la Gravina." The word "Sassi" comes from the Latin word "saxum," meaning hill, rock, or large stone.

In the 1950s, the Italian government moved most residents of the Sassi to newer parts of the city. At the time, the area had very poor living conditions, including extreme poverty and widespread malaria, which were seen as unfair and against the values of the new Italian Republic led by Alcide De Gasperi. Despite this, many people continued to live in the Sassi. According to the English travel guide Fodor's, the area was considered poor until the late 1980s because many homes were still not safe to live in.

Today, the local government focuses on tourism and has worked with the European Union, the Italian government, and UNESCO to restore the Sassi. Many businesses, hotels, and pubs now operate in the area, as reported in an April 2015 article in The New Yorker.

Geography

The "Sassi" are located on the Murgia Plateau, which is found between the regions of Apulia and Basilicata. Together with the "Civita" and the "Piano," the two Sassi make up Matera's Old Town.

Culture

The Sassi look similar to ancient places in and around Jerusalem. Because of this, they have been used in many films about Christianity, such as The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964), The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004), The Nativity Story (Catherine Hardwicke, 2006), and Ben-Hur (Timur Bekmambetov, 2016).

They also appeared in Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman (2017), where they were used as the setting for the Amazons' city, Themyscira. Additionally, they were used in Cary Joji Fukunaga's No Time to Die (2021), where a scene showing James Bond's Aston Martin racing was filmed.

Music

In 2016, the band Corde Oblique released a song called "I sassi di Matera" on their album "I Maestri del Colore." The song has two parts. The first part is inspired by a place called Sasso Barisano, and the second part is inspired by Sasso Caveoso.

Gallery

• Sasso Barisano
• Sasso Caveoso
• Church of St. Pietro Caveoso
• A view from the hills
• Inside of a cave house