Matera, Italy: A City of Cave Houses
This was Matera. Ancient, forboding. A city built on top of itself no less than three times. It’s a story of progress, heartbreak, abandonment and rebirth.
The first thought that came to my mind was “âÂ?¦How can people live like this?” I was standing inside one of the famous “sassi di Matera” (stone caves of Matera). A house that wasn’t what it seemed. Really nothing more than a cave that had been slightly modified to accommodate some furniture and a stove. The entrance re-fitted with a door. Under my feet – a floor that actually was no more than the ceiling of another cave dwelling that in turned served as another house.
This was Matera. Ancient, foreboding. A city built on top of itself no less than three times. It’s a story of progress, heartbreak, abandonment and rebirth.
The city of Matera has been around since the Paleolithic age. And even though it’s been used as a backdrop for over 40 films over the years, people didn’t really take notice of Matera until Mel Gibson selected it as location for his film the “Passion of Christ”.
That’s too bad really, because if ever a city should be given its due – the city of Matera is it.
Within the confines of the landscape visitors can see 3 unique yet inter-related stages of development in Matera.
Phase One:
Matera, Italy is home to the sassi, an entire city of cave-houses dug out of soft tuffa-stone, rising Phoenix-like out of an adjacent ravine. How it was even possible for the inhabitants of Matera to eek out a living – they were all farmers – is a testament to the human spirit. The land above, below and around Matera is nothing short of a rocky crag. If livestock were able to find any decent fodder here it’s a testament tot heir spirit as well.
On the far side of the ravine that sit prehistoric caves dating back to when man first set foot in this area. It’s like a timeline. As civilization progressed so did these caves become more and more livable. At some point in time-eternal, man stepped out of his cave, worked his way across the ravine and began to dig new homes out of the soft-tuffa stone so indicative to the area.
Phase Two:
And dig he did. The landscape already was pock-marked with caverns and natural cisterns. The townsfolk adapted what they could, built around and into what showed the most promise for a home, and before you know it and entire city had sprung up along the steep ravine’s exterior. The roof of one house may have been the floor of another or part of a road. So on top of many of the original caves sits a second level of civilization. Still present and an excellent contrast between the two.
To better understand how the ancient inhabitants lived in the ancient districts of the of Matera before it was abandoned, it is advisable to visit “Vico Solitario”, where inside, visitors will discover a typical cave house furnished with beds and utensils of that long-ago time. What you see is as it really was. No Hollywood dream-factory could think u something this fantastic. It finally took UNESCO to come along and figure out this wasn’t some poverty-stricken second-rate town. This was a mother lode of culture. In 1995 Matera was declared a “cultural landscape” by UNESCO.
Phase Three:
During Mussolini’s Fascist regime, it was decided that the cave dwellings of Matera were unfit to serve as human dwellings. By the early 1940’s, these cave houses typically provided room and board for entire families AND their livestock. A guestroom more often than not had a few pigs or a horse or a cow or all three. Well, slowly but surely, the inhabitants of these houses were moved out. “Ordered out” is probably a more correct term – whether they wanted to or not it should be added – and moved into to “casa populari”. These cheaply constructed tenement high rises are still present today – a gift from Benito Mussolini – still in use, and famous for being the cornerstone of the “new” Matera.
For about 15 years, more than 18,000 people took flight from their old properties in order to move to new outlying townships. The systematic evacuation of a crucial part of this eco-structure was complete. New Matera was now a lively city with a completely dead “Centro storico” (city center). So now you’ve got three levels of civilization pretty much side by side. What is now considered “old town” is for the most part a ghost town. A ghost town if you will. And “new town” runs the risk of having the same fate. It is estimated that 60% of the youth have moved out of Matera due to lack of jobs and any kind of future.
The Future
Is the new Matera better than the old? When the tenants of the sassi-dwellings were moved into their new digs, the original deal was to teach them trades and find them jobs. These were after all tenders of livestock. Not exactly a trade you can capitalize on in a big city. But like a lot of things Italian it was all so much a case of empty promises.
It is no longer news that Matera was chosen to provide the backdrop to Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of Christ.” Before he chanced up Matera, Gibson had traveled to Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. He’d considered building sets by hand. But following up on a tip, he visited Matera in person. And the rest as they say – is history. “The Passion of Christ” went on to gross over 300 million dollars and suddenly Matera had a new industry! “Passion Tours” soon became the rage. Tourists could visit the locations where many of the scenes were shot. They could even eat in a restaurant “where Mel ate”, sleep in the hotel “where Mel slept” and so on.
Only then did the Matera city council realize “I think we have something here”. Since the debut of the film, there has been renewed interested in building up the abandoned city center. Preserving it in such a way that future generations can learn and com to appreciate what it really meant to “live off the land”.
Matera is easily accessible by air from the airport at Bari or Brindisi, or by train from any city (expect to make connections) on the Adriatic coast. Nearby is the interesting city of Alberobello in Puglia, with its interesting stone buildings called Trulli.
There is a worthwhile six day Tour of Matera with the movie in mind and is available from sassiweb.com. The prices are reasonable and you have your choice of several hotels. If you don’t opt for the guided tour, by all means get a guidebook and do some research on the internet ahead of time. (Or contact me! I’ll be glad to help)
The city of Matera. Like so many cities in the South of Italy – they remain almost hidden until someone takes the time to visit and explore.
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