An ancient city of caves that featured in Daniel Craig’s last Bond film, The Ghost City that was chosen for Quantum of Solace, and The City in the Sky that is crumbling down like in a Tolkien movie. Discover the most mystical places in Italy.
MATERA, THE CITY OF CAVES
Wonder Woman, The Passion of the Christ and No Time to Die were partly shot in Matera, a small city situated on a rocky outcrop in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. Matera is one of the oldest continously settled sites in Europe. When you walk through its atmospheric streets, you step back in time. Some people compare Matera’s mystical atmosphere to the one in Jerusalem.
In the 1950s, Matera was known as the shame of Italy. It was one of the places most affected by the post-war crisis. Families lived in extreme poverty in caves of the prehistoric era with their animals. Diseases spread and the population started to be hit by malaria, cholera and typhoid. It became a national scandal. The entire population of Matera, roughly 15,000 people, mostly peasants and farmers, were relocated from the caves to new housing projects. The ancient city became a ghost city.
Today, Matera has emerged from the dark shadows of the past. In the 1990s, the Unesco declared it a world heritage site. The population began to renovate the caves and to rent them to tourists.
Alex Polizzi’s video shot in Matera is the most interesting one. It starts at 24:30.
CRACO, THE GHOST TOWN
Craco was another location chosen for a James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Discover the sad history of the famous Ghost Town.
ISOLA DI LORETO
The Loreto Island near Bergamo was a meeting place for fishermen, traders and pilgrims who visited the female cloister and the pertaining sanctuary. The history of this island has been almost unknown up to 1910, when the gentleman Vincenzo Richieri decided to build a neo-gothic castle as his private home on the island.
CIVITA DI BAGNOREGIO – THE CITY IN THE SKY
Civita di Bagnoregio is located in Tuscia on the border between Tuscany and Lazio. It is also referred to as The Dying City or The City in the Sky. Discover why.
THE PARK OF MONSTERS
ALBEROBELLO
FROM STAR WARS TO MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ROYAL PALACE
(More places will be added in the next two weeks.)
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