Municipality of Matera Matera is one of the oldest cities in the world. Since 1993 the Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches are World Heritage Sites
On October 17, 2014 Matera was designated
European Capital of Culture for 2019 by a jury (composed of foreign and Italian experts, and a representative of the European Commission) among a group of equally beautiful and deserving cities, such as Cagliari, Lecce, Siena, Perugia and Ravenna.
" European Capital of Culture" is an institution founded in 1985 to promote knowledge of the historical, artistic and cultural heritage of the member countries of the EU. The first was the Greek capital Athens, while Italy was represented in the past by Florence in 1986, Bologna in 2000 and Genoa in 2004.
The "Città de Sassi" won the victory not only for its scenic and historical-artistic beauties, but also and above all for a careful planning to support its candidacy. "The criterion of choice", as the President of the jury, Steve Green, and Karel Bartak of the EU Commission, have remembered, "was the participation of the city and its citizens, but also the good governance and heritage that will be left".
The slogan chosen by Matera for his candidacy was "
Open Future". Because, as the organizing committee wrote in its official document, "we are all obsessed with the eternal present in which we are immersed, as if it were impossible to look away and commit ourselves to future generations." But,an ancient city like Matera can, without fear, think about the times that will come, because there have been so many times when it has been redesigned and has emerged victorious from the challenge with time. With many other small and medium-sized European cities Matera shared the same fate of decline and cultural immobility. In recent years, however, the situation is changing thanks to a movement that systematically removes the barriers to access to culture: using new technologies, adopting open licenses to make, culturally and economically sustainable, a model in which cultural production is widespread, horizontal , participated ".
The opportunity for promotion and development for Matera can be defined with one word: unmissable.
www.comune.matera.it www.matera-basilicata2019.it 
