Rome Trip Overview
Matera is a source of shame for Italy, a place of poverty, high quality of childhood mortality, where people lived in caves without electricity , running water or sewage. Carlo Levi’s book “Christ Stopped at Eboli” raised awareness of the desperate conditions people were living in and about half the 30,000 population were moved to new homes in the modern part of the city between 1953 and 1968. Matera is located in a remote corner of Southern Italy in the small region Basilicata. It was not the only reason why it has been managed to remain unknown, especially since it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 and restaurants. Do not miss to visit Matera!
Additional Info
Duration: 12 to 14 hours
Starts: Rome, Italy
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
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What to Expect When Visiting Rome, Lazio, Italy
Matera is a source of shame for Italy, a place of poverty, high quality of childhood mortality, where people lived in caves without electricity , running water or sewage. Carlo Levi’s book “Christ Stopped at Eboli” raised awareness of the desperate conditions people were living in and about half the 30,000 population were moved to new homes in the modern part of the city between 1953 and 1968. Matera is located in a remote corner of Southern Italy in the small region Basilicata. It was not the only reason why it has been managed to remain unknown, especially since it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 and restaurants. Do not miss to visit Matera!
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Sassi di Matera, 75100 Matera, Province of Matera, Italy
Matera is located in a remote corner of Southern Italy. It is not the easiest place to go for it. Buildings climb up and down the hillside, houses piled on top of each other. They were carved out of the rock and the original caves. Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements back to the Palaeolithic period. On the other side of the ravine you can see the simple forms of the Neolithic caves where people lived 7000 years ago. A dense structure of narrow streets and alleyways fill up with the lights of the evening, giving the impression that one is strolling through to Nativity scene made of papier-mâché. This is Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019, where the Rupestrian Churches and uber-famous Sassi, the world’s most interesting settlements, were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. A walk through Matera’s historic center, will carry visitors back into a long forgotten past. The area was already inhabited during the Paleolithic Era, when the first settlements were established in these calcarenite grottoes. It is so fascinating that earns the nickname “The Second Bethlehem”, and has impressed writers, artists and directors for centuries; you may recall, that Mel Gibson chose to film The Passion of the Christ in Matera.
Duration: 6 hours
