The Sassi—the two sprawling districts of cave dwellings cut directly into the limestone ravine—are widely considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world. But survival is not the same as prosperity. By the 1940s, the Sassi held thousands of people in conditions that ultimately shocked the entire country. Families lived alongside their livestock in cramped caves with no electricity or running water, suffering from malaria and staggering infant mortality rates.
The Shame of Italy
The fuse was lit by Carlo Levi’s 1945 memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli. The book included a vivid, horrifying passage written by his sister, Luisa Levi, describing the plague-like squalor of the caves. The scandal drew national politicians to the deep south, firmly attaching a phrase to the city—widely attributed to communist leader Palmiro Togliatti—that would define it for a generation: la vergogna d’Italia, the shame of Italy.
The Law and the Eviction
The state’s response was absolute. In 1952, the Italian government passed a special law mandating the clearance of the Sassi. Approximately 15,000 residents were forcibly relocated to modern housing blocks built on the plateau above the gorge. The ancient caves were padlocked, and the city was, in effect, switched off. Matera did not gently decline; it was subjected to a total state eviction.
The Return
The Sassi sat silent and abandoned for decades. The reversal began slowly with a 1986 law permitting and funding restoration, accelerating massively when the area received UNESCO World Heritage inscription in 1993. By the time Matera was crowned European Capital of Culture in 2019, the arc was complete. Inside a single human lifetime, the same stones went from national shame to abandoned monument, and finally to international showcase.
The Caves Today
Today, the abandoned spaces house boutique cave hotels, subterranean restaurants, and luxury spas. The private investment undeniably saved the Sassi from physical collapse, but it requires confronting a genuine irony: visitors now pay premium rates to sleep in the exact poverty that the previous tenants could not wait to escape.
Navigating the Sassi
The historic centre is split. Sasso Barisano is the more thoroughly restored and commercially developed district, while Sasso Caveoso remains visually dramatic, its unrenovated caves staring out over the Gravina ravine. High on a limestone crag in the Caveoso sits Santa Maria de Idris, one of the many historic rupestrian (rock-hewn) churches. To understand the reality of the 1950s, you can visit the Casa Grotta—a fully reconstructed cave house, complete with its cramped animal corner, which remains open to the public.
Unsurprisingly, the architecture has created a permanent film-set economy. The city famously doubled for ancient Jerusalem in The Passion of the Christ, and provided the spectacular backdrop for the opening car chase in the James Bond film No Time to Die.
The Practical Frame
The Southern Italian summer dictates how you see the city. The Sassi are essentially a bowl of bare, pale stone with almost no natural shade, making July and August punishingly hot. By day, the post-2019 crowds are dense; by early morning and late evening, the city belongs to itself. Conversely, winter in the caves can be genuinely, sharply cold.
There is a major logistical catch: Matera is not on the state railway network, meaning it has no standard Trenitalia station. The route in is through Bari (BRI). From Bari Centrale, you must take the private Appulo Lucane railway (FAL), a regional train that takes roughly an hour and forty minutes—replaced by buses on Sundays, public holidays and during periodic engineering works—or book a road transfer. If you are flying into Puglia first, read our Bari flights guide.
Entry falls under standard Schengen 90/180 rules. The new ETIAS electronic authorisation system has been repeatedly delayed and is currently expected in late 2026 or 2027, so you must check current requirements before you book.
Stand on the far rim of the ravine at dusk. As the sky darkens, the caves light up one by one across the gorge. You are looking at the exact same windows where, sixty years ago, the state saw only a darkness worth erasing—the same rooms, the same light, judged entirely differently by a new century.
FAQ
Is Matera worth visiting?
Absolutely. It is one of Europe’s most visually and historically intense cities. The scale of the Sassi is staggering, and the sheer improbability of its survival and restoration makes it entirely unique.
Why was Matera called the shame of Italy?
Following the 1945 publication of Carlo Levi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli, national attention was drawn to the Sassi. The desperate poverty, lack of sanitation, and disease among the thousands of cave-dwellers were deemed a national disgrace.
How do I get to Matera?
Because there is no Trenitalia station, you cannot take a standard state train directly there. You must fly or take a mainline train to Bari, then transfer to the private Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL) line, or arrange a bus or road transfer.
When is the best time to visit Matera?
Spring and autumn are best. Summer in the Sassi brings intense, inescapable heat with almost no shade, while winters can be surprisingly cold inside the stone architecture.
