Matera, Italy

One of the most ancient cities in the world, Matera is a town and province in Basilicata, Italy. Founded by the Romans but inhabited long before that Matera is famous for its Sassi.

The Sassi originate from a prehistoric settlement. They are houses dug into the rock itself.

In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city due to the unrelenting poverty described in the book "Christ Stopped at Eboli". Lately however people have been moving back thanks to grants from the Italian government and a thriving arts, crafts and tourism business is beginning to take shape.

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