10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16744
The city is understood as a place intended for the production and dissemination of knowledge, culture and creativity, while the University, represents the place that fosters the transit of knowledge, and individuals, which forms new personalities.
Matera has gone through different conditions in recent years, and in each of these, the University has been a central element in urban dynamics. The paper, therefore, investigates the evolution of the relationship between the University and Matera following the candidacy of the City as the Capital of Culture, the event (2029),  and the subsequent epidemiological crisis caused by Covid-19.
The purpose of the contribution is to initiate critical reflections on the dialogue between the two institutions, starting with the role that cultural inhabitants and "new" ways of living have on spatial transformations, to orient policies and/or strategies that can realign supply and demand, and that frame Matera as a university city.
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Giovanna Mangialardi
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Urbana
University City
Matera University City? Possible Dialogues
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2024-01-25
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Giovanna Mangialardi
2024/01/25
10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16744
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Polytechnic University of Bari
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Matera University City? Possible Dialogues
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                                                               URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024              104




Matera University City? Possible
Dialogues
PEER REVIEWED


Giovanna Mangialardi

Polytechnic University of Bari

giovanna.mangialardi@poliba.it

Ida G. Presta1

National Research Council

idagiulia.presta@amministrazione.cnr.it


1.        University and City.

The historic relationship between universities and cities2 is now returning
to the centre of attention in socio-cultural and political reflections as a
result of the crises and resources available in the new European
programming and in the national funds of the Recovery and Resilience
Plan. Rethinking possible integration policies between the two systems
from a contemporary perspective is very important, especially in contexts
where this relationship has remained potential or insufficiently valued as
resources for places and citizens.
The city is to be understood as a place for knowledge, culture and
creativity production and dissemination, while the university represents
the place that fosters the transit of knowledge, and individuals, which
forms new personalities.3 This complex relationship, which has been at
the centre of architectural and urban planning debate since the 1970s, is
reflected in the three categories of a university city, a city with
universities, and a university campus,4 described below, and from which
the reflections of the present contribution start. In the university city, it
is the university that assumes a central role in the urban, social and
economic development of the city, determining the main qualitative and
quantitative transformations; in the case of the city with universities, also
called "university poles", to the university is given a space defined in
physical and immaterial terms, which is more residual than in the first

1
  Corresponding author.
2
  Paolo Prodi, «Università e città nella storia europea», il Mulino 37, fasc. 3 (1988): 375–84; Patrizia
Messina e Michelangelo Savino, «Università e Città. Introduzione al tema monografico», Regional
Studies and Local Development 3, fasc. 3 (2022): 15–42.
3
  Arnaldo Bagnasco, «Città in cerca di università. Le università regionali e il paradigma dello
sviluppo locale», Stato e mercato 24, fasc. 3 (2004): 455–74.
4
  Nicola Martinelli, Spazi della conoscenza: università, città e territori (Bari: Adda Editore, 2012).


                                                                               Copyright 2024 The Author
                                                         This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16744                         Attribution 4.0 International License
                                                              URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024            105



case, and for that reason, it determines urban transformations and lines
of development less strongly; finally, the third case of the university
campus represents the physical and geographical separation between the
city and the university, which inevitably affects the distance from the
city's services and the possibilities the latter can offer the university and
its community and vice versa.
These definitions take relevance when contextualized against the
backdrop of the ongoing poly-crisis,5 so profound as to call into question
the social and economic assets, and ways of living and working in the
contemporary city, and because of the renewed role of the knowledge
economy as a facilitator in processes of advancement and development. 6
The contribution, therefore, aims to investigate as case study the city of
Matera that hosts the university (among the many functions) and its
community, trying to define the relationship between city and university
system, still today fluctuating and not primary in territorial government
policies. However, Matera has gone through three different conditions:
the nomination as European Capital of Culture (2014), the Capital Year
(2019) and the Covid-19 crisis (2020 to present). In each of these moments,
the University has been a central element in urban dynamics, in some
cases driving, in other cases it has more than anything else suffered some
transformations. Different forms of temporary inhabitants populate
Matera: students, tourists, and city users, 7 each exhibiting different
housing needs. The category of students is very close to the knowledge
worker vision;8 travelling for training purposes, they move from the
individual dimensions of their housing to the collective dimensions of
places of study. Training facilities have always produced a strong impact
on cities, which concerns not only the modification of the urban setting9
but also the economic and social system of the host city.10 Conversely, the
presence of big events in the city brings measurable impacts on the
attractiveness and competitiveness of universities.11 For example, the
inauguration of the new location of the University Campus in Via Lanera
coincided with the proclamation of Matera as the European Capital of
Culture 2019 and represented an opportunity to reflect on the relationship
between the academic institution and the city, integrating educational

5
  Mauro Ceruti e Francesco Bellusci, Abitare la complessità: La sfida di un destino comune (Milano-
Udine: Mimesis Piccola Biblioteca, 2020).
6
  Jean Trullén e Rafael Boix, «Economia della conoscenza e reti di città: Città creative nell’era della
conoscenza», Sviluppo locale 8, fasc. 18 (2001): 41–60.
7
  Guido Martinotti, Metropoli: la nuova morfologia sociale della città (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1993).
8
  Peter Drucker, Landmarks of Tomorrow: a Report on the New Post Modern World (Portsmouth, New
Hampshire: Heinemann, 1959).
9
  Vittoria Santarsiero e Mariavaleria Mininni, «Politiche di innovazione e modelli sostenibili food
oriented. Il ruolo delle università come spazi di sperimentazione e educazione», in Atti della XXII
Conferenza Nazionale SIU. L’Urbanistica italiana di fronte all’Agenda 2030. Portare territori e
comunità sulla strada della sostenibilità e della resilienza (Roma-Milano: Planum Publisher, s.d.).
10
   Wim Wiewel e David C Perry, Global Universities and Urban Development: Case Studies and
Analysis: Case Studies and Analysis (Routledge, 2015).
11
   Russ Thorne, «Economic Impact of sporting events», The Independent, Independent Digital News
and Media 20 (2015).
                                                            URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024           106



activities with political and cultural ones12 in the awareness of the
importance of integration between urban and cultural policies. It is
possible, moreover, to identify a "process of consolidation of the
academic school in Matera in light of a better strategy of urban
regionalization of the Lucanian university"13 with a view to a development
model based on the knowledge economy. Weaker, however, has been the
city's response to student housing policies and the construction of
services for students and temporary residents, as discussed below.
In this premises light, the contribution investigates the existing
relationship between the university system and Matera, the nature of this
relation, and how the latter has changed as a result of the aforementioned
events, attempting to assess the fallout at the urban level useful to define
possible scenarios built on the mutual exchange between city and
university. Particular attention is paid to the role in these processes
assumed by the temporary inhabitants of Matera, defined in the
candidacy dossier as cultural inhabitants, and to the "new" ways of living
that have challenged traditional models.
The contribution is organized as follows. After this introduction and a
brief overview of temporary forms of city users, the materials and method
of the research are described. Next, the case study of Matera in its
relationship with the university is illustrated, highlighting the influence
and impacts that the events had on the city, the university and the
temporary inhabitants. Finally, after a discussion that returns an
overview of the issues that emerged concerning the research themes, the
study's limitations, conclusions and avenues for future research are
drawn.

2.       Temporary Forms of City Users.

The contemporary condition, is strongly influenced by the digitization of
society, decreasing distances, hybrid forms of work and education, the
result is the rise of a new population in constant movement. "We are in an
era where the transformations of productive arrangements and lifestyles, of
global economic organization and communication systems, of languages and
international relations are such as to postulate the advent of a 'new'
professional and human figure, of a 'lineage' different from previous ones,
capable of permeating the entire society with itself and at the same time of being
its symbol, its logo”.14 Transitional, temporary inhabitants are those who
enrich cities with cultural and social contaminations, who are adapted to
living in places unusual in relation to traditional one. The motivations
that push individuals to move are several, but we have a specific focus on

12
    Mariavaleria Mininni, MateraLucania2017: laboratorio città paesaggio (Macerata: Quodlibet,
2017).
13
   Mariavaleria Mininni e Cristina Dicillo, «Politiche urbane e politiche culturali per Matera verso
il 2019», Territorio, fasc. 73 (2015): 86.
14
   Sergio Bologna, «I “lavoratori della conoscenza” e la fabbrica che dovrebbe produrli», L’ospite
ingrato 1 (2005): 18.
                                                               URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024             107



a population that moves for cultural and intellectual reasons. For this
aim, we define, in a more specific way, what is meant by a temporary
inhabitant, by understanding analytically what types this term refers to
and what their needs are. The temporary inhabitant is a new player, a
result of the phenomena of social and economic innovation, which has
radically changed the concept of using time and space, with inevitable
impacts on the urban context and its dynamics of transformation.
Martinotti15 defines them as city users, which are individuals who take
advantage of a city's services but do not actually reside there. Reference
is made, for example, to knowledge workers16 and so, to artists,
intellectuals, freelancers, researchers, businessman, the man with the
personal computer, brain worker, anyone who produces knowledge by
knowledge. This category also includes tourists, or better yet, travelers,
the curious, cultural inhabitants.17 Di Campli,18 for instance, describes the
resident tourist as a complex form of tourist, which is one who is not
simply hunting for signs,19 but learning about local culture, traditions and
territories. The category of students is very similar to the view of
temporary residents, as they are individuals who move for educational
purposes. Out-of-home students personify a particular form of temporary
inhabitant: they leave their hometowns to pursuit higher education,
university, master's, and further education. The time period is variable
and can coincide with the entire course of study, or with short periods,
such as semesters in European exchange programs like Erasmus+, for
graduate courses, or for university conventions.
Among the previously mentioned categories, students certainly have a
strong impact on the urban and economic and social system; think for
example of the settlement of large facilities dedicated to education,
housing for those out of- home students, and services. Deciding to study
in one city over another certainly depends on how attractive an urban
setting is able to make itself by providing new inhabitants with adequate
facilities, breaking down social barriers, ensuring social and cultural
heterogeneity, and offering facilities dedicated to educational. Moreover,
the academic community is far broader, including faculty, researchers,
and doctoral students, each of which can also carry out their study,
teaching and research activities at other locations. This condition
includes the whole scientific community in the type of temporary
inhabitants [Figure 1].




15
   Martinotti, Metropoli: la nuova morfologia sociale della città.
16
   Drucker, Landmarks of Tomorrow: a Report on the New Post Modern World.
17
   Dossier Matera Capital of Culture 2019
18
   Antonio Di Campli, Abitare la differenza: il turista e il migrante (Roma: Donzelli editore, 2019).
19
   Marco d’Eramo, Il selfie del mondo: indagine sull’età del turismo (Milano: Feltrinelli Editore, 2019).
                                                            URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          108




                            Figure 1| PhD Student working in the van.
                                 Credits: Francesca Alemanno.


3.       Materials and Method.

The research applies the case study method to explore the relationship
between Matera and its University and try to return a definition of this
relation. The objective was to connote the City-University relationship in
its socio-territorial and cultural elements, events occurred, and to detect
the impacts on the urban and university system.
Qualitative research is based on two parallel phases: the analysis phase,
better defined as desk research, which consists of researching, evaluating
and reprocessing data already collected by others, and the second one,
the fieldwork phase, which focuses on the researchers' participation in
the activities analyzed.
The analysis phase was dedicated to an in-depth study of the relationship
between the University of Basilicata (Matera campus) and the city of
Matera, trying to reconstruct the resources present in the area, the events
impacts and the possibilities for dialogue between the two institutions.
The analysis of data and documents facilitated the description of the state
of the art and the study of change processes. Specifically, Mininni 20
research,21 were fundamental materials for understanding material and
immaterial Matera resources, dynamics occurred, events and the legacy
left by the Capital of Culture event.
In parallel, a fieldwork phase involved the observation of the city and
university phenomena occurred 2019 to the present, with particular
attention to the Capital of Culture event and to the analysis of the post-
legacy phase, subsequently conditioned by the pandemic. These

20
   Leader of the Team Evaluator of the scope: Matera 2019: the transformative bearing on urban
spaces, with subsequent publication of the volume Osservare Matera, Quodlibet, Macerata, 2022.
21
   Mininni, MateraLucania2017: laboratorio città paesaggio; Mariavaleria Mininni, Osservare Matera:
cultura, cittadinanza e spazio (Macerata: Quodlibet, 2022).
                                                            URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          109



assessments started from the phenomena observation, particularly at the
initial moment of the Matera 2019 process, during the preparation of the
events. This observation was carried out in the researchers’ role,
interested in the urban dynamics of the city of Matera, and by users and
temporary inhabitants of the city, who experienced the Capital of Culture
event, the subsequent pandemic lockdown and their effects on the city
and its university (community included).

4.       University and Cultural System Versus Matera.

The site of the University of Basilicata in Matera represents a branch of
the main one, which is located in the city of Potenza. The Matera campus
includes the Department of Cultures and the Mediterranean (DiCEM),
and the Department of Human Sciences (DiSU), as well as the offices of
the Student Secretariat and those associated with the internship
management facilities and the University Library. The courses of study
pertaining to the DiCEM department are: Architecture, five yeas course,
master's degree; Cultural Heritage Worker, and Landscape, Environment
and Urban Greening (PAVU), bachelor's degree programs; Archaeology
and History of Art (ASA), international course in collaboration with the
ècole pratique des houtes études in Paris, master's degree; Anthropological
and Geographical Sciences for Cultural Heritage and the Enhancement of
Territories (SAGE), managed in a consortium manner with the
Universities of Naples Federico II, University of Salento and University of
Foggia, master's degree. In the same department there are, in addition,
two postgraduate tracks, the PhD in Cities and Landscapes: Architecture,
Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, History and Resources, and the School of
Specialization in Archaeological Heritage. For the DiSU department, the
course of Primary Education Science, a five year course, master's degree
program, is provided at the campus on Via Lanera. The University has a
strongly humanistic character focusing on cultural heritage, tourism and
education, with technical aspects concerning the course of study in
Architecture. The curriculum is a perfect match for the urban setting, one
of the oldest in human history and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since
1993.22 A city with an artistic heritage, which has made its history the
primary instrument of social and economic claim in the national and
international arena. Although the focus remains on the university
presidium, it is important to emphasize the presence of other cultural
resources that the city of Matera also possesses, which, if systematized
from the perspective of services/resources for the construction of a
university city, would be a significant strength. In particular, we mention
the Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti (Cte), in Via San Rocco, which has the
municipality of Matera as the lead partner along with scientific
collaboration from both the University of Basilicata, the Polytechnic

22
  Pietro Laureano, Giardini di pietra: i Sassi di Matera e la civiltà mediterranea (Torino: Bollati
Boringhieri editore, 1992).
                                              URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024   110



University of Bari and the CNR. Cte aims to carry out experimentation,
applied research and technology transfer projects based on the use of
emerging technologies, such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI),
Internet of Things (IoT), linked to the development of next-generation
networks.23 HUBOUT, a coworking space and laboratory for social
innovation of the Municipality of Matera, in collaboration with the
Basilicata Creative Cluster, has been open in the Spine Bianche
neighborhood since 2022. A separate site of the School of Higher
Education of the Central Institute for Restoration (ICR) , an organ of the
Ministry of Culture, has been located in Vittorio Veneto Square since
2015. The School of Advanced Training (SAF - ICR) is a course aimed at
those who want to work in the profession of restorer, acquiring a
preparation based on technical-educational activities conducted directly
on artifacts identified as cultural property and subject to the provisions of
protection. At the end of the five-year course, the student received a
Diploma equivalent to the Master's Degree in Conservation and
Restoration of Cultural Heritage qualifying for the profession of cultural
heritage restorer. Lastly, in Piazza del Sedile is the headquarters of the
“Duni” Conservatory, one of the most important in southern Italy. The
city thus appears to have an important cultural network of higher
education, which, at several levels communicate with the administration.




23
     https://www.ctematera.it/
                                                         URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024         111




                     Figure 2| Resources and supply in the city of Matera.
                        Credits: Giovanna Mangialardi, Ida G. Presta.

The map [Figure 2] shows the university campus, and the relationship
established with the urban context. In particular, it can be seen how within a 5
min walk are concentrated the main services and other cultural and training
institutions in the city. It is interesting indeed, the cultural corridor that starts
down from Sassi and arrives up to Castle Hill also location of the campus and
future student residence. In terms of university housing offerings, it is
important to note that there is no student housing in the city but rather two
ongoing experiences. First one is the student residence that will be completed,
as reported in the statement by Councillor for Infrastructure Donatella Merra,24
owing to a recent allocation of 7,5 million euros in funds, which will be in
addition to those already allocated. The Councillor also emphasized the
importance and urgency of this project, specifically for off-site students who
have been suffering from market changes and increases for too long; it will also
represent a valuable and promotional service for the University. In March 2023,



 https://www.regione.basilicata.it/giunta/site/giunta/detail.jsp?otype=1012&id=3077831&value=r
24

egione
                                                             URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024            112



the tender for the completion of the student residence hall was published.25 The
amount allocated is 13,7 million euros, this represents an initial response to the
appeal of the entire Lucanian student community.
The second project concerns the recent completion of the Social Housing-City
of Sassi complex, which saw the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, as the main investor.26
The project includes 115 apartments on an area of about 13,000 square meters,
social gathering spaces and open spaces. The initiative is among the most
relevant social housing real estate interventions for the South, aiming to provide
housing solutions with subsidized rents in the city.27 The Social Housing
Complex-City of Sassi, targets segments of the population that have difficulty
accessing the free housing market, and thus large families, single-income,
single-parent households, the elderly, young couples, as well as young off-site
students. Despite representing a real estate operation promoted by mostly
private actors (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Fondo Esperia and Social Housing
Foundation, etc.), it is an attempt to respond to the rising cost of living in the city
by providing an alternative solution to the growing housing needs of the city of
Matera.




                        Figure 3| Social Housing Matera “Città dei Sassi”.28


5.       Events and Impacts.

The nomination as European Capital of Culture 2019 has confirmed art
and culture as major attractors. Matera, as the first city in the South to
receive the title, has built the candidature by interweaving scientific and
technological expertise, manual skills and traditions to design an idea of
the future (the reference slogan is Open Future) 29 for the Lucania
community and for local, national and international tourists and city
users based on the immense architectural and cultural heritage that

25
   "Recupero e ristrutturazione edilizia del 2° padiglione dell'ex Ospedale Civile di Matera da
adibire a residenza per studenti universitari", Comunicato della Regione Basilicata.
26
   https://materasocialhousing.it/tipologie-appartamenti/
27
   Press release - no.104 of 05/10/2022/ Social Housing Matera | Cassa Depositi e Prestiti
28
   Left photo Credits: https://materasocialhousing.it/tipologie-appartamenti/
Right      photo    Credist:    https://sg-gallerylive.it/index.php/cantieri/social-housing-citta-dei-
sassi/#bwg429/6060
29
         dossier       https://www.matera-basilicata2019.it/images/2019/allegati/dossier_mt2019-
openfuture_ita.pdf
                                                            URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          113



animates the city of Matera and its history. A long and inclusive process
in which cultural and social associations, the region's municipalities,
private operators, residents and many other institutions, including the
University of Basilicata, participated. The Department of European and
Mediterranean Cultures (DICEM) and the School of Specialization in
Archaeology worked alongside the Committee to support the candidacy
but above all to introject its spirit and train all enrolled students in the
culture of openness. In fact, in July 2014 in the decommissioned building
of the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane railways, in agreement with APT Basilicata,
Matera 2019 and the University, the Matera 2019 Urban Center was
opened, a place that could be supportive in the narrative about the change
of the city, as well as a space for study and work. Since 2019, with the
opening of the Campus the Center has moved inside the campus itself, it
remains a coworking space open to students and interested companies,
who with a membership fee can gain access.
Evaluation and reports that are useful in order to understand the
transformations of the process from the moment of nomination have
reported what has happened of Matera European Capital of Culture in a
transparent and open way.30 Specifically, the reports and evaluations
submitted and collected were:
-      Project leader and Matera 2019 – Experience, business model
impact and social innovation. Analysis of some case studies by Prof.
Carlucci (University of Basilicata);31
-      Open Design School: Living Lab as a catalyst for business
development. The experience of some providers by Prof. Carlucci
(University of Basilicata);32
-      Audience survey: a study of the experience and perceived benefits
during Matera 2019 by Prof. Petraglia (Università degli Studi della
Basilicata);33
-      The space of events and events in space by Prof. Mininni
(University of Basilicata).34

30
   Dossier Matera Capital of Culture 2019
31
   Evaluator: University of Basilicata (team led by Prof. Daniela Carlucci)- Evaluative scope: In
Matera we produce culture. Effects and impacts on strengthening cultural and creative supply
chains-.
https://www.matera-basilicata2019.it/it/report-2019/studi-valutativi-su-matera-2019/l-esperienza-
dei-project-leader.html
32
   Evaluator: University of Basilicata (team led by Prof. Daniela Carlucci)
Evaluative Scope: Culture is produced in Matera. Effects and impacts on strengthening cultural
and creative supply chains. - https://www.matera-basilicata2019.it/it/report-2019/studi-valutativi-
su-matera-2019/il-living-lab-open-design-school.html
33
   Evaluator: University of Basilicata (team led by Prof. Carmelo Petraglia and composed of Dr.
Lucio Giuseppe Gaeta, Dr. Benedetta Parenti, Dr. Salvatore Ercolano) - Evaluative scope: Matera
2019 and access to culture - https://www.matera-basilicata2019.it/it/report-2019/studi-valutativi-
su-matera-2019/l-indagine-sul-pubblico.html
34
   Evaluator: University of Basilicata (Team led by Prof. Maria Valeria Mininni and composed of
Arch. Marialucia Camardelli, arch. Giovanna Costanza and arch. Miriam Pepe) - Evaluative scope:
Matera 2019: the transformative impact on urban spaces - https://www.matera-
basilicata2019.it/it/report-2019/studi-valutativi-su-matera-2019/gli-spazi-degli-eventi.html
                                                              URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024            114



Under the I-DEA project35 249 public archives and private collections were
surveyed by the University of Basilicata, which are now accessible on the
Foundation's open data portal.36
There were about 7,200 students involved in the Matera 2019 process,
from all grade levels, more than 95 percent of whom participated in the
realization and construction of the events. The University, with the figure
of Rector Ignazio Mancini, is still present in the board of directors of the
Matera 2019 Foundation, together with the Mayor of Matera and the
President of the Region, underlining the importance of the institution and
the work it does in the area. The pandemic condition confronted by the
city and consequently by the university and its community represented a
moment of profound crisis: from the creative euphoria of 2019 came the
lockdown of 2020, bringing an abrupt interruption to tourist flows, to the
dialogues struck between the University and the City, and to access to
public spaces, and consequently to the university (access to study rooms,
lecture halls, the library, etc., was banned, for example).
In particular, the synergy relationship set up during the course of the
event was frozen, and now slowly resumed,37 although the city's
attractiveness is still a strong driver of economic development and tourist
flows to the city are increasing. From APT statistical data,38 in 2014, the
year of the nomination, the registered presences in the city reach 244,847;
in 2019, the year of the European Capital of Culture, there is an increase
of about 200% recording 730,434 presences in the city, to drop by about
65% in 2020, the year of the pandemic with 253,250 presences; in 2021 the
trend rises again by 36%, with 345,187 presences. The data indicates that
interest in the city is still strong, the administration and the foundation,
in fact, continue to work on a busy cultural and tourism program,
sometimes in collaboration with the university, continuing the exchange
triggered with the Matera 2019 event.
Although the academic community afferent to the DiCEM/DiSU
department counts on a number of about 1580 individuals (including
enrolled students,39 structured and contracted faculty, and administrative
staff)40 which corresponds to about 2.6 percent of the city's total


35
   I-DEA is a pillar project of Matera 2019's exploration of Basilicata's archives and collections from
an artistic point of view; it is an experiment in how archives and collections can be interpreted as
living entities according to which to understand the articulated complexity of a territory's history
and culture. The project is by the Matera 2019 Foundation, with support from the Ministry of
Culture, the Cohesion Fund and the Basilicata region.
36
    Open archival access portal: https://umap.geonue.com/en/map/archivi-e-collezioni-unibas-
per-i-dea_978#9/40.6338/16.4603
37
   Mininni, Osservare Matera: cultura, cittadinanza e spazio.
38
   Statiistical data extracted from the Basilicata Territorial Promotion Agency - Archives 2014-2021
- https://www.aptbasilicata.it/dati-statistici/
39
    Data extrapolated from the MUR database - http://dati.ustat.miur.it/organization/ace58834-
5a0b-40f6-9b0e-ed6c34ea8de0?tags=Universit%C3%A0&tags=Studenti
40
   Data collected from the university website -
https://www.google.com/search?q=unibas&oq=unibas&aqs=chrome.0.0i271j46i131i433i512j69i59
j69i60j69i65j69i60l3.1386j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
                                                        URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024       115



population (60,351)41 the city is not perceived as a university town.
Citizens, for example, are not familiar with the new university campus in
Matera, but only recognize the one in Potenza.42 The number of
matriculations has also been declining in recent years due to the
pandemic [Figure 4]; however, from the interviews posed to the
University on enrollment data, about 15 percent of matriculations are
expected to recover by the academic year 2022/2023.




                        Figure 4| Matriculated Trends in Matera site.
                           Credits: Authors' revision of Mur data.


The city’s strong tourist orientation can be read from the housing supply.
Matera has seen significant increases in private rentals and needs even
more subsidized housing for the most vulnerable social groups.

6.      Possible Dialogue? Concluding Remarks.

The contribution investigates the existing relationship between the
university system and Matera, the nature of this relationship, and how the
latter has changed as a result of the aforementioned events, attempting to
assess the fallout at the urban level.
Matera has undergone profound changes as a result of the various events
that have affected the city, yet the relationship with the university has
remained latent and undervalued. In 2020, a discussion seemed to have
begun between the administration and the university institutions,43 with
the main objective of making Matera a university city by investing in the
university's attractiveness and networking with other actors and with the
numerous cultural principals. Particular attention was paid to the need to
address the declining population, especially in the 20-29 age group.44 An



41
   Istat DATA 2017
42
   Mininni, Osservare Matera: cultura, cittadinanza e spazio.
43
      The working panel included the Rector Mancini and Mayor Bennardi.
https://www.sassilive.it/cultura-e-spettacoli/terza-pagina/matera-pronta-per-la-citta-
universitaria-sindaco-bennardi-incontra-rettore-unibas-mancini-report-e-foto/
44
   Istat 2020 data.
https://www.istat.it/it/files//2022/03/Censimento-della-popolazione-in-Basilicata_focus.pdf
                                                             URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024     116



opportunity that has not yet been fully seized both in urban strategies and
in educational and housing offerings appropriate to the target students.
The University, during the Matera 2019 event, has assumed the role of
intermediary in the relationship between cultural policies and urban
policies, between culture and the city. It became an anchor institution,
fulfilling the task of monitoring and evaluating some of the experiences
that took place during and/or after the event, thanks to the activity
provided by the Matera 2019 Foundation. However, the presence of the
University of Basilicata, despite representing an important cultural
venue45 and a value for the territory, cannot yet be considered as a hinge
between the events and the urban space.
The impact of the event was strongly perceived in the city, giving it the
designation of a tourist/art city. However, Matera has not managed to win
the definition of “university city”;46 Matera seems to be more of a “city
with a university”, where the university has a residual role compared to
the clearer tourist vocation and will. Moreover, the role of the student
community has been marginal in public discussions, and the exodus of
young Matera residents is still ongoing. The pandemic, on the other hand,
as shown in the data above, has greatly affected enrolment, which has
gone from 289 matriculated for the a.y. 2019/2020, to 238 for the a.y.
2021/2022. However, as specified above, trends suggest a 15% recovery in
future years.
Despite the many issues solicited, however, the importance of the public
service that the University of Basilicata offers to the community emerges,
through its role as a mediator between the training of scientific excellence
and social and contemporary problems.
Ultimately, the analysis shows how the University of Basilicata beyond
the more traditional tasks of research and education, represents, albeit
within the limits of action, for the city of Matera, an attractor of talent and
businesses, triggering relationships that over time nurture and enrich the
relationship between University and City, and the big event of Matera
European Capital of Culture has demonstrated this. However, this does
not imply a direct increase in the attractiveness of the university campus
for students, as there has been a weak increase and difficulty in managing
facilities related to the right to study. There is still much to be done in
terms of upgrading infrastructure and services to support students. It is
necessary, therefore, to support a still embryonic process by providing
joint City/University policies to preserve the international breath gained
in 2019 and to attract and enhance young temporary residents.47 The
university should aim to become a leader of cultural and social processes
that are an engine of emancipation and vindication for both the region
and the city of Matera, at the national and international levels.48 The

45
   Mininni e Dicillo, «Politiche urbane e politiche culturali per Matera verso il 2019».
46
   Martinelli, Spazi della conoscenza: università, città e territori.
47
   Mininni, Osservare Matera: cultura, cittadinanza e spazio.
48
   Ibidem.
                                                URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024    117



potential conditions of Matera and its University make evident the
multiple possibilities and relationships of/with the Lucanian territory,
which if enhanced can initiate a long-lasting and fruitful dialogue over
time, benefiting both institutions and especially the students, citizens and
resources for the territory.


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