Matera · Nine Thousand Years in the Rock Caves

The old town of Matera was cut out of the rock face: houses in the stone, churches in the stone, the roof of one street serving as the floor of the next, water running down through the cracks.

People have lived here since the Neolithic, and in the mid-twentieth century residents were moved out because the sanitation was so poor; the cave dwellings stood empty and later became a filming location for the “Jerusalem” and “ancient Jerusalem” of the cinema.

The wall paintings in the rock churches are still there. Old residents say the place is comfortable by day and cold at night — the stone remembers body heat.

Historical Mysteries / Basilicata · Italy / Time immemorial