THE REDISCOVERY OF A SECRET CITY: MATERA (ITALY), EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2019

Abstract

Matera, ancient city of southern Italy, is sited in the Basilicata Region. Known by the names of “Città dei Sassi” and “Città Sotterranea”, it is known worldwide for the historical districts called “Sassi”, areas with an extraordinary historical and cultural heritage that make Matera one of the oldest inhabited cities of the world. Although the Sassi were recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the first location in southern Italy to receive this recognition, Matera is still a city to rediscover as some directors of famous films like “The Gospel according to Saint Matthew” by Pier Paolo Pasolini (1964) or the “Passion of Christ” by Mel Gibson (2004) have done. Indeed, the city is an open-air stage with a huge cultural and historical heritage that allowed it to be designated, together with Plovdiv (Bulgaria), European Capital of Culture for 2019. It is this the essence of this article, which initially studies the specific requirements that a city must meet to be recognized as the European Capital of Culture. Later, it focuses on Matera’s natural and built assets and then make some concluding remarks about the potentialities of historical heritage and the challenges that must be faced to achieve a sustainable development without irreversible physical and cultural alterations.