Matera is a city and the capital of the Province of Matera in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic, it is renowned for its rock-cut urban core, whose twin cliffside zones are known collectively as the Sassi.
Basilicata, also known by its ancient name Lucania, is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-km stretch on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania and Calabria, and a longer coastline along the Gulf of Taranto between Calabria and Apulia. The region can be thought of as the "instep" of the "boot" of Italy, with Calabria functioning as the "toe" and Apulia the "heel".
A dugout or dug-out, also known as a pit-house or earth lodge, is a shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground. Dugouts can be fully recessed into the earth, with a flat roof covered by ground, or dug into a hillside. They can also be semi-recessed, with a constructed wood or sod roof standing out. These structures are one of the most ancient types of human housing known to archaeologists, and the same methods have evolved into modern "earth shelter" technology.
The province of Matera is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera. It has an area of 3,447 square kilometres (1,331 sq mi) and a total population of 201,133; the city of Matera has a population of 61,204. The province contains 31 comuni, listed in the list of comuni of the province of Matera). It is bordered by the province of Potenza in the west and south, the region of Calabria also to the south, the region of Apulia to the east and north, and by the Ionian Sea to the southeast.
Altamura is a town and comune of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, 45 kilometres southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basilicata. As of 2017, its population amounts to 70,595 inhabitants.
Castellaneta is a city and comune in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of Southern Italy, about 40 km (25 mi) from Taranto. Located in a territory spanning from the Murgia to the Ionian Sea, characterized by numerous gravina (ravines), it is part of the Comunità Montana della Murgia Tarantina.
Gravina in Puglia is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy.
Santeramo in Colle is a town in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia, southern Italy.
The Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia is a national park in Apulia, southern Italy, established in 2004. It lies in the Murgia geographical area, with its headquarters in the town of Gravina in Puglia, and has an area of 677.39 square kilometres. It is part of a larger Special Protection Area established to protect the grass steppe, lesser kestrel's habitat.
The Altopiano delle Murge is a karst topographic plateau of rectangular shape in southern Italy. Most of it lies within Puglia and corresponds with the sub-region known as Murgia or Le Murge. The plateau lies mainly in the Metropolitan City of Bari and the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, but extends into the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto to the south, and into Matera in Basilicata to the west. The name is believed to originate from the Latin: murex, meaning 'sharp stone'.
The pallone di Gravina is a firm, semi-hard, cow's milk cheese from the regions of Basilicata and Apulia, in south-east Italy. It is made in the pasta filata style weighing between 1.5 and 2.5 kg, in a pear-like shape, ball or balloon (pallone), and was traditionally produced in the area of the city of Gravina, in the Murgia area of the province of Bari. Today, however, production is centred on the province of Matera.
Matera Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Matera, Basilicata, Italy. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the designation of the Madonna della Bruna and to Saint Eustace. Formerly the seat of the Bishops, later Archbishops, of Matera, it is now the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Matera-Irsina.
Pane di Altamura is a type of Italian naturally leavened bread made from remilled durum wheat semolina from the Altamura area of the province of Bari, in the Apulia region.
Montursi is a frazione or section of the comune of Gioia del Colle, in the Province of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has approximately 700 inhabitants.
The Terra di Otranto, or Terra d'Otranto, is an historical and geographical region of Apulia, largely corresponding to the Salento peninsula, anciently part of the Kingdom of Sicily and later of the Kingdom of Naples, which became a province of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
The Church of San Leonardo, Italian: Chiesa di San Leonardo, is a cave church in the rione of Sasso Caveoso of Matera, in Basilicata in southern Italy. It takes its name from a fresco of San Leonardo. The church is deconsecrated, and was until recently used as a bakery. The date of foundation of the church is unknown; it was first documented in 1543–44, when it was without a door and repairs were ordered.
The Metropolitan City of Bari is a metropolitan city in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari. It replaced the province of Bari and includes the city of Bari and some forty other comuni. It was first created by the reform of local authorities and then established by the Law 56/2014. It has been operative since January 1, 2015.
Il Conte di Matera is a 1958 Italian adventure film directed by Luigi Capuano and starring Virna Lisi and Otello Toso.
Pulo di Altamura is a doline located on the Murge plateau. It is the largest doline in that region and it is located about 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) north-west of the city of Altamura. It shares the local toponym pulo with other large dolines of the region, i.e. Pulicchio di Gravina, Pulo di Molfetta and Pulicchio di Toritto.
Pulicchio di Gravina is the second-largest doline in the Murge plateau after Pulo di Altamura. It falls into the territory of Gravina in Puglia, located about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) north of the latter, close to the border with Altamura's territory. It shares the local toponym pulo with other large dolines of the region, i.e. Pulo di Altamura, Pulo di Molfetta and Pulicchio di Toritto.
