‘In the Sassi, you are never finished,” says Domenico Marsicano of his home in Southern Italy. Sassi, or “stones” in Italian, refers to the ancient quarter of Matera, a city in the Basilicata region ...

Long overlooked by tourists, the Italian cave town of Matera is having a moment, spurred by its selection as the 2019 European Capital of Culture, its recent designation as a UNESCO World Heritage ...

In what is the instep of Italy’s boot, the first forays into Italy from North Africa came to settle in Matera 10,000 years ago. Living quarters were fashioned in both the limestone caves and built ...

Time should tick slowly in a city like Matera. Claimed as the third-oldest continually inhabited settlement in the world (after Aleppo and Jericho), the southern Italian city has been home to someone ...

The third-oldest city in the world, Matera is in the limelight in 2019 but it has an enduring, timeless appeal that few travellers will be able to resist. Here's what The Local's editor Clare Speak ...

A Volkswagen bug sits on top of a limestone column, squashed by one final, huge block. The sculpture, by famed Italian artist Antonio Paradiso, stands at the entrance to an outdoor gallery housed in ...

One of Italy’s most underrated cities is also one of the world’s oldest and packed full of historical gems. Named as a "Second Bethlehem", the underrated but beautiful city of Matera can be explored ...