The Oldest City of Italy: Matera 9000 years old culture

Italy is a nation renowned for its history, arts, and breathtaking natural scenery. Most people's perceptions of this nation are based on its most well-known tourist destinations, Florence, Rome, and Milan. But Italy has a lot of undiscovered gems as per me (Julio Herrera).

Did you know, for instance, that residents of Matera's historic stone city still reside in homes built more than a thousand years ago?

Matera- Julio Herrera

After Aleppo and Jericho, the city in southern Italy is regarded as the world's third oldest continuously inhabited village, and its most remarkable feature is that residents still reside in the same caves as their predecessors. It is situated adjacent to a tiny valley with the river Gravina running below in the Italian province of Basilicata, 66 Km from Bari. It became well-known due to the prehistoric settlements that were carved out of the local limestone cliffs, known as the Sassi di Matera (Matera's Stone Caves). It is thought that the original inhabitants of Italy may have lived there. The city of Matera was first established in 251 BC, despite the fact that these settlements date back to 7,000 BC.

Matera started to evolve in the 1970s and 1980s, and once it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, it changed much more. Currently, the area is home to several luxury hotels, restaurants, and bars that draw tourists from across the globe. However, if you visit the city's historic district, you may have an incredible experience while admiring the homes, churches, monasteries, and hermitages that were carved out of the local caves. The city's cobblestone streets transport visitors to another time, giving the area a historically fantastical feel.

With the historic city of "Sassi di Matera," which also attracted filmmakers who exploited its natural beauty for shooting, Matera attained global recognition. The Passion of the Christ (2004), The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964), and a portion of the James Bond movie No Time to Die (2021) were all filmed in Matera. Perhaps now is the right moment to travel to this unique city and embark on an extraordinary historical trip.