MAGICAL MATERA

Ancient wonders, great food and a visit from James Bond have put this Italian city firmly on the map

- ZOE WEST

WHY GO?

Rarely does a place render you speechless, but Matera, a time-worn stone city in the lesser-known Italian region of Basilicata, has the power to do just that. The honeycomb of cave houses, rock churches and cobbled streets carved chaotically into a rocky outcrop is otherworldly – and it deserves a spot on your travel bucket list.

FROM SHAME TO FAME

Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993, Matera became the first protected landscape in Western Europe – no small feat for a city that, only 70 years ago, was branded the shame of Italy thanks to widespread poverty and disease. At that time all its residents were relocated, deemed to be living in a state of emergency, leaving the city dormant for the first time since prehistory. So, how did this crumbling place go on to make a dramatic appearance in the latest James Bond film No Time to Die?

OLD-WORLD APPEAL