The original urban core, developed from the natural caves carved into the rock, was later modeled in increasingly complex structures within two large natural amphitheaters: the Caveoso Sasso and the Barisano Sasso. In 1993, UNESCO declared the Stones of Matera a World Heritage Site. Matera has a fascinating and complex history: border towns, contrasts, competition, and fusion of landscapes, civilizations, cultures, and differences. From the rock civilization to those of Byzantine and Eastern origin, to the advent of the Normans, the systematic attempt to reduce the rock city to the rules of the culture of the European city: from the Romanesque to the Renaissance, to the Baroque, the last eight centuries of construction and finishing of the city have attempted to shape, overcome the natural resistances of the existing rock habitat, determining architecture and urban accommodations of particular quality and originality.

Photo: Holger Uwe Schmitt • CC BY-SA 4.0

This fascinating castle built by Frederick II is a masterpiece of medieval architecture, a symbol of Puglia, and, since 1996, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the most mysterious places in Italy. Built around 1240 by Frederick II, soon after his return from the 6th Crusade of 1229, when, after the excommunication of Pope Gregory IX, only Andria, among many cities in Puglia, swore him obedience and fidelity. The mysterious octagonal layout of the manor, used perhaps as an astronomical observatory or imposing hunting manor, differs significantly in the structure from all the other castles of Puglia. The castle sits on top of a secluded hill overlooking the Murgia valley on one side and offers stunning views of the Adriatic Sea on the other. It is characterized by an unusual shape with an octagonal plan and towers also octagonal at every corner. The fortress might have originally been used as an astronomical observatory or as an imposing hunting lodge. Its mysterious octagonal base sets it significantly apart from all the other castles in Puglia.

Photo: Berthold Werner • CC BY-SA 3.0