From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage
On Gingerguide's self-guided Matera audio tour, From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage is a stop worth about ~45 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Matera Matera guide
About From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage
The extraordinary reversal of Matera's modern history, from Carlo Levi's 'Christ Stopped at Eboli', through the forced evacuation of the 1950s called a 'national shame', to UNESCO World Heritage status in 1993 and European Capital of Culture 2019.
The modern history of Matera is one of the most dramatic stories in the history of Italian cities. In 1945, the writer Carlo Levi published 'Cristo si è fermato a Eboli' (Christ Stopped at Eboli), which brought national attention to the extreme poverty of the Basilicata region and included disturbing descriptions of life in the Matera Sassi. The Sassi became infamous as a 'national shame' (vergogna nazionale) in the late 1940s, and in 1950 Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi visited Matera and set their clearance in motion. Between 1952 and 1968, by parliamentary law, the entire population of the Sassi, approximately 15,000 people, was forcibly relocated to new housing on the plateau above. The Sassi were then left empty and officially forgotten. In 1993, UNESCO inscribed the Sassi on its World Heritage List. In 2019, Matera was European Capital of Culture. The transformation is unprecedented in the history of European heritage.
Did you know? Carlo Levi's book 'Christ Stopped at Eboli' takes its title from a phrase he heard repeatedly from the peasants of Basilicata: 'We're not Christians here, Christ stopped at Eboli.' Eboli is a town in Campania, north of Basilicata. The phrase meant that civilisation, Christianity, the law, the modern state, had stopped at Eboli and never reached the deep south. Levi's book made this phrase famous worldwide.
How much time do you need at From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage?
Around ~45 min works well for From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage?
Yes — From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage made the cut as one of 15 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Matera. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Matera
Hear the story of From 'National Shame' to UNESCO Heritage
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