The Sassi di Matera are two districts (''Sasso Caveoso'' and ''Sasso Barisano'') of the Italian city of

Matera Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a comple ...

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

, well-known for their ancient cave dwellings inhabited since the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

period. The "Sassi" have been described by Fodor's as "one of the most unique landscapes in Europe". Along with the park of the Rupestrian Churches, it was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.

History

The Sassi originate from a prehistoric

troglodyte A troglodyte is a human cave dweller, from the Greek 'hole, mouse-hole' and 'go in, dive in'. Troglodyte and derived forms may also refer to: Historiography * ''Troglodytae'' or ''Troglodyti'', an ancient group of people from the African Red ...

settlement and are suspected to be among the first human settlements in Italy. There is evidence that people were living here as early as the year 7000 BC. The Sassi are houses dug into the calcarenitic rock itself, which is characteristic of

and

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, locally called "tufo" although it is not volcanic tuff or tufa. The streets in some parts of the Sassi often run on top of other houses. The ancient town grew up on one slope of the ravine created by the Gravina river. The ravine is known locally as "la Gravina". The term ''sasso'' derives from Latin ''saxum'', meaning a hill, rock or great stone. In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city. Beset by extreme poverty and riddled with malaria, the unhealthy living conditions were considered inhuman and an affront to the modern new Italian Republic of Alcide De Gasperi. However, people continued to live in the Sassi, and according to the English Fodor's guide: Until the late 1980s this was considered an area of poverty, since many of these houses were, and in some cases still are, uninhabitable. The current local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and it has promoted the regeneration of the Sassi with the aid of the European Union, the government, and UNESCO. Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs, and hotels there, as described in an April 2015 article in '' The New Yorker''.

Geography

The "Sassi" grew in the area of Murgia Plateau, extended between

and

. Along with the "Civita" and the "Piano", the two Sassi form Matera's Old Town.

Culture

The Sassi are visually reminiscent of ancient sites in and around Jerusalem, and for this reason they have been used in many Christian-themed films, including '' The Gospel According to St. Matthew'' ( Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964), '' The Passion of the Christ'' ( Mel Gibson, 2004), ''

The Nativity Story ''The Nativity Story'' is a 2006 American biblical drama film based on the nativity of Jesus and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub, Alexander Siddig, Ciarán Hinds, and Shoh ...

'' (

Catherine Hardwicke Helen Catherine HardwickeAccording to the State of Texas. ''Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. (born October 21, 1955) is an American film director, p ...

, 2006) and ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' ( Timur Bekmambetov, 2016). The Sassi di Matera serves as a critical clue in Dick Rosano's mystery, 'The Secret of Altamura.' They also appeared in

Patty Jenkins Patricia Lea Jenkins (born July 24, 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She has directed the feature films ''Monster'' (2003), ''Wonder Woman'' (2017), and ''Wonder Woman 1984'' (2020). For the film ''Monster'', she w ...

's '' Wonder Woman'' (2017), serving as a location for the Amazons' city Themyscira, and Cary Joji Fukunaga's '' No Time to Die'' (2021), where a scene with James Bond's

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

racing through was shot.

Gallery

File:Basilicata Matera1 tango7174.jpg, Sasso Barisano File:Basilicata Matera6 tango7174.jpg, Sasso Caveoso File:Matera san pietro caveoso.JPG, Church of St. Pietro Caveoso File:Sassi di Matera aprile06 04.jpg, View from the hills File:Ita11141 01.jpg, Interior of a cave house File:Ita11141 04.jpg File:Matera casamuseo.jpg

References

External links