Matera 2019: Italy's Next European Capital of Culture

 

 One of my favourite European initiatives is, without a doubt, the European Capital of Culture programme. The first European Capital of Culture was designated in 1985 as the Greek capital city - Athens. Since then, every year the title goes to different cities, by rotation amongst EU countries. The project has various key roles:

• giving the designated city the opportunity to emphasize its local cultural identity;
• direct the attention of various European cultural operators towards the designated city, in order to organize their own cultural events and performances in these locations;
• raising the visibility of the city on the international level;
• providing economic and touristic growth to the city and the surrounding region.
• even after the year as a European Capital of Culture has ended, developments in the city's cultural life and infrastructure are still visible. 

   Last week, one of the winners for 2019 was announced as the Italian city of Matera, situated in the extreme southern region of Basilicata. Matera has a little more than 60.000 inhabitants, and it is the second largest city of the region, after Potenza. A decision which I appreciated, as Basilicata is not a particularly famous Italian region, nor a top-spot  destination for international tourists. So, why not discover it? 

    To tell you the truth, I have never arrived in that part of Italy, and I knew almost nothing about it. But I tried to inform myself about the city of Matera and what makes it special. Matera is divided in two parts: a modern one and an ancient one. The ancient part of the city is also known as "i sassi di Matera" ("the stones of Matera"), which were declared UNESCO heritage in 1993, being also the first UNESCO site in southern Italy. These are mainly houses carved in stone. During the Middle Ages, monks went to live there and started digging these caves in order to build monasteries. Later in time, these monks started to leave the city, and people started to occupy the monasteries and inhabit them, until around 1920. However, the poor quality of living conditions made Matera the "shame of Italy", and therefore, during the times of Mussolini, people were forced to abandon the cave-houses and live in the newly-built modern city.  

   Nowadays, the city is becoming revalued, as many of these caves are being used again. Many of them are hotels, rupestrian churches, and even bars - all with a special atmosphere, as everything is set in stone. Plus, given the fact that in prehistoric times the land of the city was under the sea, in these caves we can still see marine fossils coming out of the walls. 

    And, for cinefiles all over the world, you must know that the movie "The Passions of the Christ", directed by Mel Gibson in 2004, was filmed in Matera.

    Consequently, we have a landscape that is unique in the world, with its very own unique history. It would certainly be good for Matera, and for Basilicata in general, to enjoy a well-deserved touristic growth, and the creation of new professional and economic opportunities, which, until now, are quite scarce in the region. One thing is sure: I have become curious to visit it, and I will be following all the news and initiatives related to Matera 2019.