Matera - Italy

Matera is a city of fascinating and complex history, in 1993 UNESCO declared the Sassi of Matera a World Heritage Site, the 6th site in Italy in chronological order, the first in the south. On October 17, 2014 Matera was designated European Capital of Culture for 2019.
Matera is at the center of an incredible rocky landscape that preserves a great heritage of culture and traditions, and is the venue for exhibitions of great national and international prestige. The fascination of this beautiful city has also reached Hollywood, as Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of The Christ" was filmed there in 2004 and this year the new James Bond film will take place filming in Matera.

Matera, the city of the Sassi

The unrepeatable architecture of the Sassi of Matera tells of man's ability to adapt perfectly to the environment and to the natural context, masterfully using simple characteristics such as the constant temperature of the excavated environments, the calcarenite itself of the rocky bank for the construction of houses outside land and the use of slopes for the control of water and meteorological phenomena.

The original urban nucleus developed from the natural caves dug into the rock and subsequently modeled into increasingly complex structures within two large natural amphitheaters that are the Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano.

The Sassi of Matera rise on one of the slopes of a canyon carved out over time by the Gravina stream. On the other side there is the Archaeological Natural Historical Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera also known as the Murgia Materana Park, whose landscape represents the original context of the places, developed over time with urban settlements on the Sassi side.

Walking along the main axis that connects the two Sassi districts via Bruno Buozzi, via Madonna delle Virtù and via D’Addozio it is possible to cross this landscape and admire at the same time that of the opposite side of the Parco della Murgia Materana. It is possible to go up and down from the numerous alleys that alternate between the buildings and find themselves in always different and surprising corners.

An original shape, a firm consistency, a unique flavor: it is the bread of Matera

The loaf, with the classic croissant shape, anciently prepared in the Sassi and brought to bake in the public oven, embodies all the excellences of the Lucan territory. Due to its historical and organoleptic qualities it has become a PGI product (protected geographical indication). Always the symbol par excellence of the Città dei Sassi, this IGP product perfectly sums up the products that the land of Basilicata can offer: from the purity of spring water to quality Lucan wheat up to the right cooking that gives the crunchiness of the crust leaving the soft and fluffy interior.

Matera’s Primitive wine

The success of the latter is also reflected in the recognition of the "doc" label for five types of red wines from Matera, among which we find as a prominent element the Primitivo di Matera, the standard-bearer of a renewed land.
The color of this wine is a ruby red tending to violet and garnet, after the necessary aging 12 month period. On the nose, the Primitivo di Manduria doc reveals an intense and persistent and very characteristic aroma. How to discover it through tasting: the taste of this wine is dry, round and harmonious, almost tending to velvety. The Primitivo di Matera doc must be made 90% from the primitive grape, a product of the territory and as such traditional and not replicable.

If you are planning your trip to Puglia, a stop in Matera is a must, choose one of our properties here and start planning your trip!