Matera (Italy Day 1)

So, we've travelled to Italy for our hols this year.

Matera is an amazing town. It clings to the top of a ravine, with caves, baroque buildings and more modern buildings.

People have live here since Paleolithic times, finding refuge in caves. As the town became more prosperous in the 16th century, the Baroque town was built nearer the top of the hill, and people kept their animals in the caves.

The town continued to grow, and poorer people took to living in the caves that animals had lived in, further down the ravine.

In 1952 the Italian government declared Matera a national disgrace, due to factors such as children begging for quinine from strangers entering the town, the child mortality rate running at 50%, and people still living in caves. Imagine - post war Europe, and people are living in caves.

The govt put into force the building of the "new town" at the top of the hill, and started to move people out of the "sassi" or cave dwelings. The last people weren't moved out until 1968.

So Matera turned its back on its old self. Rock churches were looted, grass grew all over and so on. Then in 1991, Matera rediscovered itself. And in 1993 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to the caves, and the system of water collection and storage in cisterns, regarded as unique.

And Matera is pretty unique, It's one of the most awe-inspiring places I've been.

Please see the extra shots, the panoramic shot being the view from our hotel.

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