Matera

Matera is a town and a province in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Matera. Apart from an economy which has traditionally been based on agriculture, in the late 1990s the major economic base of Matera, and of surrounding cities, is the production of upholstered furniture. The town lies athwart a small canyon, which has been eroded in the course of years by a small stream, the Gravina. The area of w... more

Matera is a town and a province in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Matera. Apart from an economy which has traditionally been based on agriculture, in the late 1990s the major economic base of Matera, and of surrounding cities, is the production of upholstered furniture. The town lies athwart a small canyon, which has been eroded in the course of years by a small stream, the Gravina. The area of what is now Matera has been settled since the Palaeolithic. The city was allegedly founded by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, with the name of Matheola after the consul Lucius Caecilius Metellus. In AD 664 Matera was conquered by the Lombards and became part of the Duchy of Benevento. In the 7th and 8th centuries the nearby grottos were colonized by both Benedictine and Greek-Orthodox monastic institutions. The 9th and 10th centuries were characterized by the struggle between Saracens, Byzantines and the German emperors, including Louis II,... less