Sassi of Matera

The Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano are the ancient districts of Matera carved into the limestone rock. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, they are one of the oldest settlements in the world, continuously inhabited from the Palaeolithic to the mid-20th century.

The districts and layout of the Sassi

The historic centre of Matera grew up around the Civita hill (the central rocky spur of medieval origin) and has two main parts:

• Sasso Barisano: facing north-west, it is the largest and most restored district, with carved doorways, craft workshops and buildings that blend the rock with masonry.
• Sasso Caveoso: facing south, it keeps the most ancient and dramatic look of a natural amphitheatre, with cave houses on several levels where the streets often run over the roofs of the houses below.

The Civita: the original fortified core separating the two Sassi, dominated by the Apulian Romanesque cathedral.

What to see in the Sassi

• The cave houses: such as the Casalnuovo cave house or the one in Vico Solitario, furnished with the tools of peasant life to show everyday life before the evacuation.
• The rock churches: more than 150 places of worship carved into the rock, often decorated with Byzantine and medieval frescoes, including Santa Lucia alle Malve, San Pietro Barisano and Santa Maria de Idris on the Monterrone rock.
• The water system: a monumental underground network of cisterns and channels (such as the Palombaro Lungo under Piazza Vittorio Veneto) built to collect rainwater.