Matera Caves and the Sassi

Recently we visited Matera, a historic city in southern Italy. When we arrived in the evening we were struck by the beauty of the cave houses stacked all along the hillside. To the initial viewer, the long history of the city is hidden, but our class was lucky enough to get a better understanding and took a tour through the Sassi. The Sassi is an area of Matera that is covered in cave houses carved out of the tufo stone. The hillside doesn’t allow for horizontal development so as the population grew and houses were stacked on top of one another in dark damp environment from being mostly underground. This “capital of peasant civilization” developed terrible living conditions from overcrowding. ¹

Matera

After World War II, however, these conditions were published causing the Sassi to be named “embarrassment of Italy.” Typical over-population problems were present, especially with regard to sanitation. For example, far after malaria was eradicated from most of Europe, it was still prominent in the dense Sassi area. Acting quickly, in the 1950’s, the Italian government forced everyone to leave the Sassi for new housing where they could integrate with a more “civilized” Italian lifestyle. Beforehand these people had thought of themselves as more disconnected with the whole of Italy even speaking their own language, Materano.¹ Their culture was uprooted and memories of that lifestyle became invalidated. But now, after nearly half a century of abandonment, there is life returning to the Sassi. Our guide showed us sections of cave houses that are being restored to become artisan workshops, hotels and B&B’s, and restaurants. Over the past few years the city’s economy has seen a lot of growth. It is receiving international tourist attention for its beauty and significance as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  

Sassi area, redevelopment 

Like many of the places we have visited in Italy, there is the question of identity. What traditional cultural aspects should be kept in restoration and what should be allowed to modernize? I believe our hotel was an excellent example of balance. Many of the rooms were still cave walls and shared the history of pre-industrial Matera, yet brought new life. It will be a continual struggle to allocate appropriate resources to preserve Italy's rich history.

In addition, we visited a giant water cistern. Since spring water was only accessible from farther up on the piano section, Matera had developed a leveled system of cisterns so water could fill from the top and move down into the Sassi. Most houses also had a gutter system to collect rain water to supplement their needs.

City water cistern 

Now we are off to the Amalfi Coast!

1. Toxey, Anne. Reinventing the Cave: Competing Images, Interpretations, and Representations of Matera, Italy. Published by International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments