Matera

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Matera
Comune
Comune di Matera
Panorama of Matera
Flag Coat of arms
Matera within the Province of Matera
Location of Matera
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	75100
Dialing code	0835
Patron saint	Madonna della Bruna
Saint day	July 2
Website	Official website

The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera

UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Sassi of Matera
Criteria	Cultural: iii, iv, v
Reference	670
Inscription	1993 (17th Session)
Area	1,016 ha
Buffer zone	4,365 ha

Matera (Italian pronunciation:

Matera lies on the right bank of the Gravina river, whose canyon forms a geological boundary between the hill country of Basilicata (historic Lucania) to the south-west and the Murgia plateau of Apulia to the north-east.^[3] The city began as a complex of cave habitations excavated in the softer limestone on the gorge's western, Lucanian face.^[4] It took advantage of two streams which flow into the ravine from a spot near the Castello Tramontano, reducing the cliff's angle of drop and leaving a defensible narrow promontory in between. The central high ground, or acropolis, supporting the city's cathedral and administrative buildings, came to be known as Civita, and the settlement districts scaling down and burrowing into the sheer rock faces as the Sassi. Of the two streambeds, called the grabiglioni [it], the northern hosts Sasso Barisano (facing Bari) and the southern Sasso Caveoso (facing Montescaglioso).^[5]

The Sassi consist of around twelve levels spanning the height of 380 m, connected by a network of paths, stairways, and courtyards (vicinati).^[6] The medieval city clinging on to the edge of the canyon for its defence is invisible from the western approach.^[7] The tripartite urban structure of Civita and the two Sassi, relatively isolated from each other,^[8] survived until the 16th century, when the centre of public life moved outside the walls to the Piazza Sedile in the open plain (the Piano) to the west, followed by the shift of the elite residences to the Piano from the 17th century onwards.^[9] By the end of the 18th century, a physical class boundary separated the overcrowded Sassi of the peasants from the new spatial order of their social superiors in the Piano, and geographical elevation came to coincide with status more overtly than before, to the point where the two communities no longer interacted socially.^[10]

Yet it was only at the turn of the 20th century that the Sassi were declared unfit for modern habitation,

Before its integration into the modern Italian state, the city of Matera had experienced the rule of the Romans, Lombards, Arabs, Byzantines, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, and Bourbons.

Though scholars continue to debate the date the dwellings were first occupied in Matera,

On 25 January 982 the army of Otto II camped before the walls of Matera on its way from Salerno to Taranto, ostensibly marching against the Arabs.^[32][33][34] In 994 Matera was temporarily captured by the Arabs after a four-month siege.^{[35][36][37][38][39]} The town continued to play a part in Byzantine governance: in June 1019 the chartoularios Stephanos of Matera assisted in the re-foundation of Troia.^[40] But civic unrest was also endemic and in 1040 the Byzantine judge Romanos was murdered at Matera by the local auxiliary troops during a wave of assaults on Byzantine officials that swept across the region.^[41] After the prominent Apulian rebels enlisted the support of the Normans and defeated the new katepano of Italy at Cannae in 1041,^[42][43] Matera fell within the scope of Norman incursions and struck a deal with the invaders.^[44] In retaliation for this, the next katepano Georgios Maniakes, dispatched to Italy with special powers in April 1042, carried out mass executions in Matera in June, only to launch a rebellion of his own in September.^[45][46][47]

After his departure Matera elected

In 1927, it became capital of the new province of Matera.^{[citation needed]}

Government

Since local government political reorganization in 1993, Matera has been governed by the City Council of Matera. Voters elect directly 32 councilors and the Mayor of Matera every five years.

Main sights

This section is written like a encyclopedic style or move the content to Wikivoyage . (January 2022)

The Sassi (ancient town)

Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the "Sassi di Matera". The Sassi originated in a prehistoric troglodyte settlement, and these dwellings are thought to be among the first ever human settlements in what is now Italy. The Sassi are habitations dug into the calcareous rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Apulia. Many of them are really little more than small caverns, and in some parts of the Sassi a street lies on top of another group of dwellings. The ancient town grew up on one slope of the rocky ravine created by a river that is now a small stream, and this ravine is known locally as "la Gravina". In the 1950s, as part of a policy to clear the extreme poverty of the Sassi, the government of Italy used force to relocate most of the population of the Sassi to new public housing in the developing modern city.

Until the late 1980s the Sassi was still considered an area of poverty, since its dwellings were, and in most cases still are, uninhabitable and dangerous. The present local administration, however, has become more tourism-orientated, and it has promoted the regeneration of the Sassi as a picturesque tourist attraction with the aid of the Italian government, UNESCO, and Hollywood. In 2008, the city began the candidacy process for a European Capital of Culture in 2019; it was designated one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2019 on 17 October 2014.^[62] Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs and hotels there, and the city is amongst the fastest growing in southern Italy.^{[citation needed]}

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  Interior of a cave house
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  Exterior of a cave church
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  Interior of a cave church
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Monasteries and churches

Matera preserves a large and diverse collection of buildings related to the Christian faith, including a large number of rupestrian churches carved from the calcarenite rock of the region.^[63] These churches, which are also found in the neighbouring region of Apulia, were listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund.

Two other important churches in Matera, both dedicated to the Apostle Peter, are

Matera was built above a deep ravine called Gravina of Matera that divides the territory into two areas. Matera was built such that it is hidden, but made it difficult to provide a water supply to its inhabitants. Early dwellers invested tremendous energy in building cisterns and systems of water channels.

The largest cistern has been found under Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the Palombaro Lungo which was built in 1832.^[65] With its solid pillars carved from the rock and a vault height of more than fifteen metres, it is a veritable water cathedral, which is navigable by boat. Like other cisterns in the town, it collected rainwater that was filtered and flowed in a controlled way to the Sassi.

There were also a large number of little superficial canals that fed pools and hanging gardens. Moreover, many bell-shaped cisterns in dug houses were filled up by seepage. Later, when the population increased, many of these cisterns were turned into houses and other kinds of water-harvesting systems were realised.

Some of these more recent facilities have the shape of houses submerged in the earth.^[66]

Natural areas

The Murgia National Park (Parco della Murgia Materana), a regional park established in 1990, includes the territory of the Gravina di Matera and about 150 rock churches scattered along the slopes of the ravines and the plateau of the Murgia. This area, inhabited since prehistoric times, still preserves stationing dating back to the Paleolithic, such as the Grotta dei pipistrelli (cave of the bats), and to the Neolithic.^[67][68] The symbol of the park is the lesser kestrel.

The San Giuliano Regional Reserve, a protected area established in 2000, includes Lake San Giuliano, an artificial reservoir created by the damming of the Bradano river, and the river sections upstream and downstream of it.^[69]

Timmari

Colle di Timmari, a green plateau located about 15 km from the city, dominates the Bradano valley and the San Giuliano lake. It is a pleasant residential area, and on the top of the hill there is the small Sanctuary of San Salvatore, dating back to 1310, and an important archaeological area.

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  Gravina di Matera
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  Murgia National Park with prehistoric caves and rupestrian churches
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  Horses in the Murgia National Park
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  Saracen village
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  Cave church of San Luca alla Selva
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  San Giuliano Regional Reserve

Other sights

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  The Tramontano Castle
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  Palazzo Lanfranchi
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  Auditorium of the culture centre Casa Cava

The Tramontano Castle, begun in the early 16th century by Gian Carlo Tramontano, Count of Matera, is probably the only other structure that is above ground of any great significance outside the sassi. However, the construction remained unfinished after his assassination in the popular riot of 29 December 1514. It has three large towers, while twelve were probably included in the original design. During some restoration work in the main square of the town, workers came across what were believed to be the main footings of another castle tower. However, on further excavation large Roman cisterns were unearthed. Whole house structures were discovered where one can see how the people of that era lived.

The Palazzo dell'Annunziata is a historical building on the main square, seat of Provincial Library.

Culture

On 17 October 2014, Matera was declared European Capital of Culture for 2019, together with Bulgaria's second-largest city, Plovdiv.

Cuisine

The cuisine of Matera is a typical "cucina povera" (

• Crapiata, a peasant soup with chickpeas, beans, broad beans, wheat, lentils, cicerchie. An old recipe dating to the Roman period, later enriched with other ingredients such as potatoes, it is a common ritual grown into "Sassi di Matera" and celebrated on 1 August[72]
• Orecchiette alla materana, baked orecchiette-pasta seasoned with tomatoes, lamb, mozzarella and Pecorino cheese
• peperoni cruschi
  and fried breadcrumb. Grated cheese or turnip greens can be added.
• Cialedda, a frugal recipe with stale bread as a main ingredient. It can be "calda" (hot) with egg, bay leaves, garlic and olives or "fredda" (cold) with tomatoes and garlic.^[73]
• Pignata, sheep meat with potatoes, onion, tomatoes and celery cooked in the "pignata", a terracotta pot shaped like an amphora.^[74]
• Strazzate, crumbly biscuits prepared with egg, almonds and coffee

Cinema

Because of the ancient primeval-looking scenery in and around the Sassi, it has been used by filmmakers as the setting for ancient Jerusalem. The following famous biblical period motion pictures were filmed in Matera:

• Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
• Bruce Beresford's King David (1985)
• Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004)
• Abel Ferrara's Mary (2005)
• Catherine Hardwicke's The Nativity Story (2006)
• The Young Messiah
  (2016)
• Timur Bekmambetov's Ben-Hur (2016)
• Garth Davis's Mary Magdalene (2018)
• Jeymes Samuel's The Book of Clarence (2024)^[75]

Other movies filmed in the city include:[76]

• Le due sorelle
  (1950)
• Alberto Lattuada's La lupa (1953)
• Roberto Rossellini's Garibaldi (1961)
• Luigi Zampa's Roaring Years (1962)
• Brunello Rondi's Il demonio (1963)
• Nanni Loy's Made in Italy (1965)
• Francesco Rosi's More Than a Miracle (1967)
• Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
• Roberto Rossellini's Anno uno (1974)
• Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Allonsanfàn (1974)
• Fernando Arrabal's The Tree of Guernica (1975)
• Carlo Di Palma's Blonde in Black Leather (1975)
• Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979)
• Francesco Rosi's Three Brothers (1981)
• Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's The Sun Also Shines at Night (1990)
• Giuseppe Tornatore's The Star Maker (1995)
• John Moore's The Omen (2006)
• Liu Jiang's Let's Get Married (2015)
• Matteo Rovere's Italian Race (2016)
• Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman (2017)
• Cary Joji Fukunaga's No Time to Die (2021) - the 25th James Bond film

Music

Matera appears in the music videos for the songs "Sun Goes Down" (2014) by Robin Schulz^[77] and "Spit Out the Bone" (2016) by Metallica.^[78]

Religious traditions

The Feast of the Madonna della Bruna, held in Matera on 2 July each year, is notable for its religious procession featuring an ornamented chariot which is then pulled apart by spectators. The origins of the festival are not well known, because its story has changed while being handed down from generation to generation. One of these legends says that a woman asked a farmer to go up on his wagon to accompany her to Matera. When she arrived to the periphery of the city, she got off the wagon and asked farmer to take her message to the bishop. In this message she said she was Christ's mother. The bishop, the clergy and the folk rushed to receive the Virgin, but they found a statue. So the statue of Madonna entered in the city on a triumphal wagon. Another legend talks about a destruction of the wagon: Saracens besiege Matera and the citizens, to protect the painting of Madonna, hid it on a little wagon. They then destroyed the wagon to keep the Saracens from taking the painting.^[79]

Different hypotheses are attributed to the name of Madonna della Bruna : the first says that the noun derives from the Lombard high-medieval term brùnja (armor/protection of knights). So the name might mean Madonna of defense. Another hypothesis is that the name comes from herbon, a city of Giudea, where the Virgin went to visit her cousin Elisabetta. A third hypothesis says that the name comes from the colour of the Virgin's face. The profane insertions such as the navalis wagon and its violent destruction, along with the intimacy and the religious solemnity, suggest this festival shares roots with ancient traditions of other Mediterranean countries. For example, in Greek culture, wedding parties also celebrate with a triumphal wagon (ships on wheels richly designed).^[80] The Madonna's sculpture is located in a case in the transept of the cathedral dedicated to her, where there is also a fresco that portrays her. It dates back to the 13th century and it belongs to the Byzantine school.^[81]

Notable people

• Franco Selvaggi (1953), Football Serie A player, Italy National Team player and World Cup 1982 winner
• Luigi De Canio (1957), football manager
• Egidio Romualdo Duni (1708–1775), composer
• Emanuele Gaudiano (1986), show jumping rider
• Cosimo Fusco (1962), actor
• John of Matera (1070–1139), Benedictine monk and saint
• Enzo Masiello (1969), Paralympic athlete
• Antonio Persio (1542–1612), philosopher
• Tommaso Stigliani (1573–1651), poet and writer
• Giovanni Carlo Tramontano (1451–1514), nobleman

Transportation

Matera is the terminal station of the Bari–Matera, a narrow gauge railroad managed by Ferrovie Appulo Lucane. The nearest airport is Bari Airport. Matera is connected to the A14 Bologna-Taranto motorway through the SS99 national road. It is also served by the SS407, SS665 and SS106 national road.

Bus connection to Italy's main cities is provided by private firms.

Sports

• FC Matera
• Olimpia Matera, a basketball team

Twin towns – sister cities

Matera is twinned with:^[82][83]

• Oulu, Finland
• Petra, Jordan
• Toms River, United States

Gallery

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  Via Ridola
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  Via Bruno Buozzi
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  Domenico Ridola archeological museum
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  Palazzo dell'Annunziata
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  Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi
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  Church of San Agostino
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  Church of San Giovanni Battista
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  San Pietro Caveoso

See also

• Church of San Leonardo (Matera)
• Matera Centrale railway station

Further reading

• Warkentin, Elizabeth (March 10, 2023). "Italy's impressive subterranean civilisation". BBC Travel.

Notes