MATERA - I SASSI
If you are interested in art, history and local cuisine a visit to Matera is a must. This city is something extraordinary and it's very difficult to explain what it's like for someone who has never seen it. It's an amazing place and you feel like you have gone back in time. The old town is made up by i sassi (ancient homes carved right into the rock). Since 1993 they have been declared UNESCO World Heritage. and thanks to money from EU and UNESCO the degeneration of I Sassi has stopped and people starts to come back by carefully renovating their "caves".
Some of the caves served as churches, now famous for their beautiful frescoes.
The local cuisine can be taken with breathtaking views in the sassi since a lot of nice restaurants are now open in the old caves. The road leading to Matera is of remarcable beauty: the panoramic view offers golden wheat fields, old mansions and farmhouses scattered on the hills, and impressive canyons leading to the famous "sassi".