Once known for their squalid living conditions, the prehistoric limestone warrens have been repurposed as lodgings, bars, and artist workshops. Would staying there feel extraordinary or tasteless?

In the southern Italian town of Matera, a system of natural caves called Sassi first inhabited during the Paleolithic Age has become a bustling tourist destination. It’s something of a full-circle ...

Once the “shame of Italy,” the ancient warren of natural caves in Matera may be Europe’s most dramatic story of rebirth Tony Perrottet Contributing writer Matera’s paleolithic past has made it a ...

A must-visit location, Matera is a unique town in southern Italy surrounded by mystery and chilling history. Its breathtaking landscape, made up of cave homes carved in stone, will leave you in ...

MATERA, Italy (Reuters) - Italy is teeming with places that make you feel like you are on a movie set -- the Trevi Fountain in Rome, the Amalfi coast near Naples and Venice's lagoons come to mind. But ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning writer/podcaster, I've been to 100+ countries. Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, has been ...

Fifty years after Italy's Matera was a national embarrassment because of its extreme poverty, the city is rescuing its dignity, baroque palaces and cave churches to become a European Capital of ...

It’s difficult to imagine that Matera’s ancient warren was known not too long ago as “the shame of Italy” for its dismal poverty. In the 1950s, the entire population of roughly 16,000 people, mostly ...