@kriskris

Sassi di Matera: A City Saved by Decline "Sassi" translates from Italian as "stones." It is a stone city carved into the cliffs and represents one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements. Some of its caves were hollowed out 11–12 thousand years ago and have been used continuously to this day. Perhaps its most challenging period was the mid-20th century, when poverty led Italian authorities to decide it would be easier to relocate its residents. Ironically, this saved the city from reconstruction and new development at a time when heritage preservation was less prioritized. Then, in the 1980s, its immense value became clear, and Sassi di Matera began to be restored and developed as a tourist attraction. In 1993, the city was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the most outstanding and well-preserved example of a cave settlement anywhere in the Mediterranean.

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