| Matera and life in the Sassi caves | |||
| Home page | Matera is one of the most ancient towns in the
world. From the Neolithic era and for almost 7,000 years human life has been going on, non-stop, on this same site.The ancient town sprang out of a rocky area sitting on a great limestone gorge: the Gravina of Matera. It has developed with a close relationship to the rock. On the plateau overlooking the Gravina of Matera you will find the prehistoric villages of Murgecchia and of Murgia Timone, the latter being well known and easily accessible. Caves were also used as dwelling places at that time.As civilization progressed, the "out of land" town was built using the "tuff "stones from Matera's "Murgia". In the 6th c. B.C. Matera was the hinterland of the big cities of Magna Graecia (Taranto, Metaponto, Crotone, etc.). |
 Prehistoric caves of Murgia Timone |
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| Casa Solitario of vico Solitario | |||
| Matera and life in the Sassi caves | |||
| G.T.M. | |||
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| The original site for the man-made town, called Civita, is at the centre of the Sassi.Today, the 13th c. cathedral stands out on its top.In the Roman period the CIVITAS was fortified with walls, underneath them there were open spaces with several caves and big rocks, that is how the two ancient districts were named Sassi. In the Roman times in these spaces "Rural Homes" were built on those areas. Over time and especially in the Middle Ages, expansion was such as to include the Civita itself. The whole two-faceted resulting area was given two names: "Sasso Caveoso" and "Sasso Barisano". (to be continued...) |  The Civita, the Cathedral and the Sassi |
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