Rome dispatch

On rocky ground

The restoration of a town of prehistoric cave dwellings is raising Italian ire, writes Barbara McMahon
Houses in Matera
Houses in Matera. Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP
The bizarre but beautiful hilltop town of Matera in Basilicata, south-east Italy, is famous for its sassi (cave dwellings), inhabited by man since the Palaeolothic period.

These ancient residences carved out of rock were continuously lived in until the 1950s when the Italian government - under pressure from critics who described the living conditions of the 15,000 inhabitants as a "national disgrace" - rehoused the population in outlying districts. The town lay abandoned for decades but in recent years, and since Matera was designated a Unesco World Heritage site, people have been returning to live there. According to Matera's local authority some 2,200 people live in the sassi and the area is beginning to flourish, with new restaurants, hotels and businesses being established.

The repopulation of the town, which was chosen by the actor and director Mel Gibson as the setting for his religious blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, was always going to be a delicate matter. Matera is under the protection of the Italian state as being of exceptional national interest, on a par with Venice. Direct responsibility for its management is delegated to the local authority, which has a special department for the sassi, in cooperation with the Superintendent of Antiquities of the region.

Regional and state laws institute control over all forms of building and cover their height, demolition and reconstruction, along with general alterations to the existing urban fabric. The people who are moving back in, encouraged by grants which can cover half the cost of restoration, are not allowed to compromise the architectural integrity of the sassi.

However, a row has been rumbling in Matera for months amid claims that some people are being allowed to bypass these rigid planning rules, thus desecrating the surreal and unusual urban landscape.

The biggest controversy has been the construction of a tower made of tufo (sandstone blocks) which protrude from the roof of a 17th century building in the Sasso Caveoso district to accommodate an elevator. The application was made by the son of a prominent local official, who said the structure had been there in the 1950s, and the plan was eventually given the green light.

Another bone of contention is the development of a car park for 40 vehicles in the gardens of the convent of Sant'Agostino. It has been claimed that cypress trees more than 100 years old were uprooted to make way for the park and that the rest of the gardens have been ruined by the building work.

A further complaint is that the management of tourist facilities in the sassi is expanding too fast, with hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants and pizzerias springing up. A discotheque within the historic centre was recently closed down after residents complained about the noise. The fear is that these modern additions are spoiling the authenticity of the sassi, in the same way that over-development has ruined Alberobello and its trulli houses in Puglia.

Leonardo Sacco, editorial director of Basilicata magazine, says the unique character of the town and its harmonious relationship with the environment is under threat. "The restoration of the sassi is inept, inappropriate and open to manipulation," he says. The national newspaper Corriere della Sera is also concerned and recently ran an article under the headline: "Sassi of Matera, a heritage betrayed".

In Italy it is entirely normal to do business on the basis of who you know or who you are, but Dora Capiello, who was born in the new part of Matera and who acts a tourist guide in the old town, says local people have expressed concerns. "There's a feeling that some people have more opportunity than others, that if you know somebody (in the council) you've got a better chance of getting things past the planning regulations," she says.

At the Ufficio Sassi, the local authority offices with specific responsibility for the old town, spokesman Vito dell'Edera insists planning regulations are strict and apply to everyone. "The tower that everyone is talking about has been changed slightly - but only by 30cm," he says. "The same kind of structure was there before but it collapsed and the developer produced the photographs to prove it. We show prudence. It's not as if we allow people to get up in the morning and just start to build. There are processes to go through and it takes a long time."

So far 2,200 people of a projected 4,000 have returned to the sassi. The influx of tourism provides much-needed employment in this impoverished part of Italy, says dell'Edera.

"This is a unique place. We invite people to come and see it for themselves and to judge if we are doing the right thing."

Today's best video

Today in pictures

More from World dispatch
