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THE SASSI AND THE PARK OF THE RUPESTRIAN CHURCHES OF MATERA

(distance: 30 km)

Matera is the capital of Basilicata. In the world it is known for the Sassi, the oldest part of the city that makes Matera one of the oldest cities in the world still inhabited.

The World Heritage site includes the Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches.

The houses in the Sassi are caves with different shapes and sizes. Perfectly integrated into the environment, today they present themselves as a set of houses in shades of grey and white that are barely distinguished from the rocks in which they are inserted. These typical houses also have stable, cellar and cistern.

The Park of the Rupestrian Churches, on the other hand, is a complex of houses, churches, monasteries and hermitages. It includes over 150 examples of rupestrian churches, today a sacred art heritage. The first ones are related to medieval monastic culture, starting from the eighth century. Among the Rupestrian Churches is the “Crypt of Original Sin” , considered the Sistine Chapel of the Rupestrian Churches