Its a 'capital of culture' (Image: Getty) History buffs, rejoice. This quaint, 'unspoilt' town in southern Italy is every culture fan's dream, and as the third oldest city in the world it has earned the deserved title of a UNESCO World heritage site. In the region of Basilicata is the ancient city of Matera, which is Europe's oldest town.
The city was built above a ravine, named Gravina of Matera, and is known as "Sassi di Matera", with 'sassi' translating to stones in Italian. Although the town is now brimming with beauty, it was once known as a "national disgrace". Dubbed the "shame of Italy", the city was ravaged with chronic poverty where people were dying of hunger and disease, reports the National Geographic.
In the 80s, the city was repopulated with bars, restaurants and boutique hotels, and tourists now travel from all over to enjoy everything it has to offer - that have been incredibly spawned out of former cave dwellings. function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.createElement('script');el.
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