World Heritage Identification Number: 670
World Heritage since: 1993
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇮🇹 Italy
Continent: Europe
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
Map
The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera: A Unique Troglodyte Settlement in Southern Italy
The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera, located in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, is a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers a unique glimpse into human history. This site is renowned for its troglodyte settlements, which are cave dwellings carved into the soft tufa rock, dating back to the Paleolithic era.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
This is the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem. The first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history. Matera is in the southern region of Basilicata.
Encyclopedia Record: Sassi di Matera
The Sassi di Matera are two districts of the Italian city of Matera, Basilicata, well-known for their ancient cave dwellings inhabited since the Paleolithic period.Additional Site Details
Area: 1,016 hectares
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
(v) — Outstanding example of traditional human settlement
Coordinates: 40.66638889 , 16.61027778
Image
© Bönisch, CC BY-SA 2.0 de Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)