🏛️ The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera — Sasso Barisano
Troglodyte settlement and rock-cut churches in southern Italy
📋 Fast Facts
- UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1993
- Two districts: Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso, carved from soft tufa rock
- Continuous human habitation from prehistoric times through present day
- Features rock-cut churches with Byzantine-style frescoes and interconnected cave dwellings
Sasso Barisano is one of two historic districts comprising the Sassi di Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. This ancient troglodyte settlement is carved into the soft tufa rock of the Murgia plateau and represents an exceptional example of human adaptation to a challenging environment. The district has been continuously inhabited for millennia, evolving from a network of prehistoric cave dwellings into a complex architectural landscape of ...