Everyone has heard of the canals and gondolas of Venice, the Colosseum in Rome, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Surprisingly few people have heard of an ancient town in southern Italy called Matera which is known for its Cave Dwellings, Roughly 9,000 years ago, a group of Paleolithic settlers built cave dwellings in Matera’s calcium-rich rocks. Human beings have consistently lived in Matera’s caves since they were first built—which makes them some of the oldest continuously occupied cave dwellings in human history. For much of the 20th century, many residents of Italy considered Matera to be a national embarrassment. […]

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