Once a disgrace, today an attraction! This is Matera, a city carved into the rock

In the heart of southern Italy, in the region of Basilicata, lies Matera, a city whose history is not only read in books but literally carved into stone. To a casual observer, it may appear as if the houses are randomly stacked across a hillside, but anyone who takes the time to walk its narrow streets quickly realizes they are in a place that goes beyond the idea of an ordinary city.

Matera was not built, it was carved into the limestone rock that stretches through the centuries.

Matera Photo: ermess Depositphotos

The most iconic part of Matera is the Sassi, cave dwellings that developed over thousands of years. The first signs of human activity in this area date back to the Stone Age, placing Matera among the oldest continuously inhabited places in Europe. What is truly astonishing is the fact that people lived here for centuries following almost the same rhythm, side by side with their habits, families, beliefs, and animals. Until the mid-twentieth century, Matera was a symbol of poverty.

The residents of the Sassi lived without electricity or running water, often sharing space with livestock. This image of hardship and backwardness prompted the authorities in the 1950s to evacuate thousands of people from the ancient cave homes and attempt to forget what was seen as a national disgrace.

Matera Photo: ermess Depositphotos

But the city could not remain forgotten. Over time, what was once labeled a civilizational failure came to be recognized as an invaluable heritage of humanity. Matera experienced a quiet and determined revival.

In the last decades of the twentieth century and the early years of the twenty-first century, many of the cave houses were restored, and the once-crumbling ruins were transformed into museums, art spaces, restaurants, and even luxury hotels. In 1993, Matera was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in 2019, it was named a European Capital of Culture.

In the meantime, the city found its own unique place in contemporary popular culture. Because of its almost biblical appearance, Matera became a favorite filming location. Pier Paolo Pasolini shot his Gospel According to Matthew here, and Mel Gibson chose Matera to portray Jerusalem in The Passion of the Christ. Its labyrinth of stone houses, staircases, terraces, and hollows gives the impression of a place unbound by any particular era, a place that exists outside of time. Walking through its spaces, it is easy to believe that layers of faith and struggle are etched into the stone just as deeply as the rooms themselves.

But Matera is not just an abstract story about history and aesthetics. It is a place where every corner offers something tangible and real, a place to be experienced with all the senses. If you want to feel how people once lived in those stone homes, visit Casa Grotta, a faithfully reconstructed interior of a former cave dwelling. Beneath the main city square lies Palombaro Lungo, a vast underground water cistern that resembles a silent cathedral carved below the surface.

At the highest point of the old town stands the Cathedral of Saint Eustace, whose Romanesque outlines overlook the entire stone landscape. From its terrace, the view stretches across both Sassi and the Gravina canyon, the natural crevice along which the city grew. On the opposite side of the canyon, accessible by a short drive, lies a viewpoint from which Matera looks like a dream, especially in the golden light before sunset.

Matera, Photo: AdryPhoto Depositphotos

One of the most mystical experiences is offered by the rock-hewn churches. These rupestrian sanctuaries, numbering in the hundreds, are scattered throughout Matera and the surrounding hills. Some are small and simple, while others are richly decorated with frescoes that have survived centuries of moisture, darkness, and neglect. The Church of Santa Maria de Idris, perched dramatically above Sasso Caveoso, and the Church of San Pietro Barisano, with its underground crypts and medieval frescoes, are just a fraction of the spiritual and artistic heritage this city holds.

Today, Matera is a place of striking contrasts. Between past and present, sacred and everyday, stone and life. Although it endured a difficult journey from symbolic shame to cultural capital, it has retained what matters most, and that is authenticity. Rather than becoming an open-air museum, it has become a city that is lived in and discovered step by step. If you are drawn to history, unusual landscapes, and places unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Matera is a city well worth visiting.