TY - JOUR
T1 - "Sassi", the old town of Matera (Southern Italy)
T2 - First aid for geotourists in the "European Capital of culture 2019"
AU - Tropeano, Marcello
AU - Sabato, Luisa
AU - Festa, Vincenzo
AU - Capolongo, Domenico
AU - Casciano, Claudio Ivan
AU - Chiarella, Domenico
AU - Gallicchio, Salvatore
AU - Longhitano , Sergio G.
AU - Moretti, Massimo
AU - Petruzzelli, Marco
AU - Schiuma, Giusy
AU - Spalluto, Luigi
AU - Boenzi, Federico
AU - Pieri, Piero
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The old town of Matera (southern Italy) is an urban area included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993 and Matera has recently been designated as European Capital of Culture 2019. Since prehistoric times, the old town, called "Sassi di Matera" ("sassi" is the Italian word for stones), has been spectacularly dug in a "soft rock" (a Quaternary calcarenite). This rupes-trian settlement is perched in the upper part of the right side of the "Gravina di Matera", a canyon cutting the so called "Murgia Materana", the barren rocky high in front of the town. An increasing number of tourists is attracted by itineraries crossing the "Sassi di Matera", and, due to the intimate connection be-tween the old town and the geological anatomy of the area, each touristic itinerary could become an urban geotour or could be enriched by geological information. The aim of the present paper is to offer simple geological information to tourists who are visiting the old town of Matera, giving them the opportunity to admire the amazing geology of the area and to be intrigued in understanding the development of the crossed landscape.
AB - The old town of Matera (southern Italy) is an urban area included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993 and Matera has recently been designated as European Capital of Culture 2019. Since prehistoric times, the old town, called "Sassi di Matera" ("sassi" is the Italian word for stones), has been spectacularly dug in a "soft rock" (a Quaternary calcarenite). This rupes-trian settlement is perched in the upper part of the right side of the "Gravina di Matera", a canyon cutting the so called "Murgia Materana", the barren rocky high in front of the town. An increasing number of tourists is attracted by itineraries crossing the "Sassi di Matera", and, due to the intimate connection be-tween the old town and the geological anatomy of the area, each touristic itinerary could become an urban geotour or could be enriched by geological information. The aim of the present paper is to offer simple geological information to tourists who are visiting the old town of Matera, giving them the opportunity to admire the amazing geology of the area and to be intrigued in understanding the development of the crossed landscape.
KW - Geology
KW - Geotourism
KW - Sassi di Matera
KW - Gravina di Matera
KW - Murgia Materana
KW - Southern Italy
U2 - 10.26382/AMQ.2018.09
DO - 10.26382/AMQ.2018.09
M3 - Article
SN - 2279-7327
VL - 31
SP - 133
EP - 145
JO - Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary
JF - Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary
IS - 2
ER -