We took the 0930 shuttle into Matera this morning. Boy, were we ever glad that we were not on our bikes as there was another steep climb up into the old part of town. This part of town, known as the "Sassi" area (meaning stone in Italian), was bustling with tourists. We tried to join an English guided tour but no luck. 

So, with the map in hand we set out to explore this UNESCO World Heritage site of 60,000 residents and the oldest city in Europe. It is actually 9,000 years old and the third oldest continually inhabited settlement in the world. The history of this place is amazing! What stands out the most for me is that the earliest settlers lived in the caves in the surrounding hills with their extended families and animals. In 1950, the impoverished city was declared the "shame of Italy" by the country's prime minister of the day, a pronouncement that culminated in the eviction of 15,000 inhabitants residents living in the caves that lined a deep ravine running through the city. We took a tour of a typical cave house and learned about the daily lives of a family of 11 children with their parents and livestock.

Today, Matera is a bustling tourist destination with its caves filled with restaurants , bars, hotels and souvenir stores. This town has 155 cave chapels and churches and a number of "rock" churches, where the church was built inside the huge rocks. We took a tour of one of these churches and saw the remnants of frescos dating back to the 12th century.

The views from many points are spectacular! Such a unique place to visit. 

As we walked all day - up alleys, down lanes and so many stairs, on uneven cobblestone, our feet were tired. So we decided to leave a little earlier than planned, had an early dinner and caught the shuttle back to our campsite about 6 pm.