Day 22 Matera

What to do in Matera

Morning guided tour to the Sassi

Afternoon at leisure

Matera is an old town and situated on the edge of a deep ravine.
It has been inhabited from pre-historic times.
Till 50 years ago people have been living downtown in the Sassi.
The Sassi are cave-dwellings.
Because the rock is soft it is easy to make houses, churches, canals e.g. in the rock.
The town became over populated and the government cleared the Sassi.
The people were given new houses in the upper town.
The Unesco made the lower town where the Sassi are  a World Cultural Herritage site and now many Sassi are restored. The many churches have beautiful fresco's. When you walk alongside the Strada panoramico di Sassi you have a beautiful view on the Sassi.
Now the Sassi are being repopulated partly, to make the maintainance of the buildings possible.