Matera in Southern Italy

12 October 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Tango7174/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Tango7174/cc-by-sa-4.0

Matera is a city in the province of Matera in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Matera and the capital of Basilicata from 1663 to 1806. The town lies in a small canyon carved out by the Gravina. Known as la Città Sotterranea (“the Underground City”), Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, having been inhabited since the 10th millennium BC. Its historical center “Sassi“, along with the Park of the Rupestrian Churches, is considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1993. On 17 October 2014, Matera was declared Italian host of European Capital of Culture for 2019 with the Bulgarian town of Plovdiv.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top