Matera is an ancient city. Its history goes back about 30,000 years. It is on the border of Basilicata and Puglia. It is worth a visit to see all the caves, winding pathways and amazing views. I thought the caves were called sassis, but I read that sassi means stone. Most of the structures look as if they are made of stone. When you go into them, you realize a lot of them are caves. They were inhabited since prehistoric times! Apparently, Matera did not have a modernized plumbing system even as recent as the 1950s. The government had a plan to evacuate all the people living in the caves because of poverty and diseases and destroy it all. Academics came in and found evidence that people had been living in the caves since 7,000 BC. Neolithic tools were found as well as a 150,000 year old skeleton. People moved back into the caves and many have been renovated into restaurants and hotels. In 1993 it became a UNESCO World Heritage site. UNESCO is an acronym for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. So that pretty much means that the city is legally protected for having a cultural, historical or scientific significance to the world. Pretty cool!
Dottie has become Jesse’s little sidekick. She is always up for an adventure with him when other people are tired or over seeing historical stuff. 🙂
marschmadness 