History buffs, rejoice. This quaint, ‘unspoilt’ town in southern Italy is every culture fan’s dream, and as the third oldest city in the world it has earned the deserved title of a UNESCO World heritage site.
In the region of Basilicata is the ancient city of Matera, which is Europe’s oldest town. The city was built above a ravine, named Gravina of Matera, and is known as “Sassi di Matera”, with ‘sassi’ translating to stones in Italian.
Although the town is now brimming with beauty, it was once known as a “national disgrace”. Dubbed the “shame of Italy”, the city was ravaged with chronic poverty where people were dying of hunger and disease, reports the National Geographic.
In the 80s, the city was repopulated with bars, restaurants and boutique hotels, and tourists now travel from all over to enjoy everything it has to offer – that have been incredibly spawned out of former cave dwellings.
On your visit, there’s no limit of things to do. The cultural city has been filming location for many Hollywood blockbusters, so its worth taking a guided walking tour through the cobbled streets.
The tours take place through the two districts of the city, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano. To get a feel of what life was like before the ‘sassi’ was abandoned, you can visit a casa grotta, where original cave homes have been remodelled.
There are plenty of museums for those with an affinity for history, with the Museum of Contemporary Sculpture showing masterpieces from artists such as Arnaldo Pomodoro among the catacombs of caverns.
The so-called ‘new town’ (which was formed in the 17th century) is where to spend your evenings in Matera, with buzzing cocktail bars, live music and delicious restaraunts on the piazza. And as it is Italy, you know the wine bars are to die for.
One travel influencer came under fire recently for sharing a guide to Matera to her 259,000 followers. Claiming it was an ‘unspoilt region’, Chloe Rushworth who runs the Instagram account @thewhitepinesproject, urged her audience to “go to this part of Italy before it gets popular.”
Speaking of the ancient city, she said: “Honestly Matera is the most incredible ancient city. You can not miss it. It’s the perfect alternative to other romantic breaks like Rome. I highly recommend that you stay in one of the boutique cave hotels. We stayed in the L hotel in Pietra in the hot tub and terrace suite.
“It was absolutely outstanding and the view from the terrace was just insane.”
“We stayed for two nights and one full day in Matera, which I think is the perfect amount of time. The thing I love most about it is we didn’t have a massive plan, we just embraced exploring the beautiful streets of Matera.” One angry critic commented “It’s been popular for years before you arrived”, with others complaining that the once quaint city would now be overrun with tourists.
Despite this, others praised the video of her trip, which Chloe shared cost £1,800 for two people. Flighs to Brindisi start at around £64 on RyanAir, with hotels in Matera coming to around £80 a night off season.
