The Cave City Time Forgot: Why Matera Belongs on Your Italy List

Older Than Rome, Quieter Than Tuscany

Everyone knows the Amalfi Coast. Fewer people know Matera — a city in the arch of Italy's boot where people have lived in cave dwellings, carved directly into limestone cliffs, for over 9,000 years. The Sassi di Matera, as they're called, are among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth, and for most of the 20th century, they were considered a national embarrassment — overcrowded, without plumbing, a symbol of rural poverty. In 1993, UNESCO named them a World Heritage Site. Today those same caves are boutique hotels, wine bars, and quiet cafés carved into stone that has outlasted empires.

A Different Kind of Golden Hour

Matera earns its nickname — "the city that glows" — at sunset, when the limestone catches the light and the whole valley turns the color of honey. There's no gimmick to it, no light show. It's just very old stone doing what it's always done.

What We Took From It

Our Italy Collection isn't only Amalfi and la dolce vita — it's built on the idea that Italy's beauty is often quieter and older than the postcard version. Matera is a reminder that the most elegant places don't always announce themselves.

Curated for the journey.

Explore the Italy Collection →

More Journeys

An Hour South of Barcelona: The Roman City Most Travelers Skip • Menton: The Riviera Town Nice and Cannes Overshadow • All stories