Matera was an unbelievable landscape in which home and mountain were conflated into one homogenous and rich structure. The homes were carved into the limestone on the upper regions of the mountains and were often using the roof of another as both a porch and access to their own home. It is estimated that Matera was first inhabited about 9,000 years ago according to both our tour guide and google just now as I double checked to make sure my memory serves me correctly. The reason for this is estimated to its proximity to water and the availability and properties of the surrounding natural material, limestone. The limestone allowed for a very expedited construction process which allowed people to carve into the soft stone of the mountainside and add a small extension in the front with the excavated material. Being extremely porous, limestone tends to absorb water fairly well, and the interior environments, while beautiful, are not necessarily optimal for the hot and humid summers. While this ancient city is undeniably beautiful, it also comes with a dark history. During Mussolini’s reign, Matera was named the “shame of Italy” because of the widespread poverty plaguing the region. In the 1950’s the population of around 16,000 peasants and farmers were displaced from their homes and placed into housing projects on the higher levels of the mountain. With a mandated evacuation of the area, the government had offered them new and better living conditions, but forced the families to give up their homes in return. Now only 30% of the paleolithic city is privately owned, most converted to restaurants, antique shops, and bed and breakfasts, and the rest of the 70% is government property. A lot of the structures are still abandoned and walled in to prevent squatters from living there. It was definitely beautiful, but it is essential to remember and to consciously think about what kind of conditions, histories, and exploitation of people allow us now to visit these sites as cultural destinations.
Omar Dairi