The fascinating history of the city of Matera

What does the term city historically mean and how does it differ from a simple human settlement?

Historically, to define a city is not just to refer to a place where people live, but to a complex and sufficiently numerous human settlement. A city is made up of housing and structures that allow for community life, and it arises from a process of cultural, economic, and administrative centralization of the population. This process consolidates over time, making the city a stable and organized organism.

Thus, a city is very different from a single human settlement, perhaps sporadic or temporary, that may have been present in a territory in past eras. For this reason, it cannot be said that Matera was a prehistoric city, even though its territory has hosted traces of human presence since the Paleolithic and Neolithic.

When was the city of Matera born and what is its historical origin?

The city of Matera dates back to the early medieval period. It is during this historical moment that the existence of a stable and numerous community in the territory begins to be documented. Before that, people lived in natural caves scattered throughout the territory, but there was not yet a proper organized urban settlement.

What are the oldest traces of human presence in the territory of Matera?

In the territory of Matera, the first humans lived in natural caves already in prehistoric times. In the Park of the Murgia Materana, an area of about eight thousand hectares, the oldest archaeological remains, dating back to the Paleolithic, have been found. Among these, an important example is the Cave of Bats, located a few kilometers from the city.

How did natural caves form and what is the difference with artificial caves?

Natural caves formed due to the chemical and mechanical action of meteoric water, which over the millennia has shaped the limestone rock creating cavities and natural spaces. These caves are very different from artificial caves, which are instead directly excavated by humans in the rock using metal tools.

When did artificial caves begin to be excavated in Matera?

Artificial caves began to be excavated only from the high medieval period. Before that, in prehistory, there were no suitable tools to excavate the rock to create these caves. Neolithic people lived in simple huts and defended their villages with trenches dug into the rock, but did not excavate artificial caves.

Where were the first stable settlements in Matera located?

The first stable and organized settlement developed in the area of Civita, the highest neighborhood of the historic center. Civita is located on a rocky ridge at an altitude of about 400 meters above sea level. Here, archaeological finds dating back to the metal age, about three thousand years ago, have been found.

What is the history of Civita and what important events characterized it?

Civita has been the heart of the first true city of Matera. The name of the city appears for the first time in documents from the 8th century AD, during the Lombard domination in southern Italy. Subsequently, Matera came under the control of the Arabs of the Emirate of Bari, but in 871 the city was burned and destroyed by the Frankish emperor Louis II.

What is the position of Civita in relation to the Sassi districts?

Civita rises between two deep natural valleys, called burroni, where the two famous districts of the Sassi are located: the Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano. These districts probably originated in the high medieval period as rock settlements, consisting of artificial caves excavated in the rock.

How are the Sassi districts of Matera structured?

The Sassi are composed of cave-houses, workshops, cisterns, stables, and other environments excavated in the rock and arranged on different levels along the walls of the burroni. These environments are connected to each other by paths, staircases, and ledges also carved into the rock. The Sasso Caveoso, the oldest, has a shape similar to an amphitheater and faces south, while the Sasso Barisano is oriented north.

When were the first defensive walls of Matera built?

The first, narrower wall was probably built in the Norman period, around the 11th century AD. Later, during the Angevin period, the walls, towers, and defensive gates were expanded and strengthened to protect the city.

What transformations has the historic center of Matera undergone over time?

Between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern age, buildings made of stone and palaces were superimposed on the cave-houses excavated in the rock. In the 13th century, Civita was enriched by the construction of a large Romanesque Cathedral dedicated to the Madonna della Bruna and Saint Eustace, patrons of the city.

What is the significance of the names of the Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano districts?

The name Sasso comes from the Latin saxum, which means rock or cliff, and indicates the rocky nature of the districts. The Sasso Caveoso takes its name from the proximity to the municipality of Montescaglioso, once called Mons Caveosus, while the Sasso Barisano probably refers to the direction towards Bari, the capital city of the region.

What is the historical significance of the term Sasso in Italian toponymy?

The term Sasso is present in many names of Italian municipalities located on or near a rock or cliff, such as Sasso Marconi or Sasso di Castalda. In ancient Rome, for example, Rupes Tarpeia or Saxum Tarpeium was the cliff of the Capitol from which condemned people were thrown to their deaths.

What is the Piano district of Matera and how has it developed over time?

The Piano is the historic center district located near Civita, on the summit of the two Sassi districts. It is a plateau where the descent towards the gravina, the deep valley, begins. This district began to develop during the Renaissance, with the construction of houses and palaces that overlapped numerous medieval underground environments.

How has the Piano district evolved in the subsequent centuries?

The Piano district has continued to grow steadily during the Baroque period and in the following centuries. New constructions have extended from Piazza del Sedile, near the Cathedral, to reach the edges of the Sassi Caveoso and Barisano, with a network of streets and squares connecting the various parts of the historic center.

What is the urban layout that connects the various districts of the historic center of Matera?

The central area that connects the two opposite sectors of the Piano develops from Piazza Pascoli, following Via Ridola and continuing along Via del Corso up to Piazza Vittorio Veneto. This route unites the Sasso Caveoso with the Sasso Barisano, thus integrating the historic center into a single urban system.

How was the conformation of Matera described by a historian of the 16th century?

The chronicler Eustachio Verricelli, at the end of the 16th century, described Matera imagining it as a bird without a tail. The Civita was the body of the city, the Piano represented the neck and head, while the two Sassi were the wings, one facing east and the other west, without walls to defend them. This poetic image offers a suggestive vision of the urban conformation of Matera.