Overview
Sassi and the Canyon of the Gravina make the perfect setting for rituals that light the hearts of visitors every year. A Unesco heritage since 1993. From Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday, the steep streets that wind through Sassi are decorated in the lights and colors of ancient times and immerse us in the stories of the life of Christ.
These wonderful places, important also to directors such as Pier Paolo Pasolini and Mel Gibson who set their masterpieces here, are the backdrop each year to the staging of biblical events such as the Last Supper, the Passion and the Crucifixion of Jesus.
These representations are highly emotive, thanks also to the location: Sassi and the Murgia Park of Matera incredible places from a natural and architectural point of view.
There are many devotees and travelers from all over Italy who, come to attend the events that take place every year in the historic center: the scenes come alive in the evening hours, with lights, music, and voices that adorn the mystical atmosphere of the area between Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso.
From the Accusation, Process, his Flogging to Death, to the Angels of the Resurrection and the Apparition to the Apostles, every year prestigious theater and cinema actors are chosen to recount the last hours of Christ in unique and moving scenography.
Concerts, exhibitions and processions of a commemorative nature enrich the Matera Easter program of events taking place between the Sassi districts and urban areas.
Theatrical performances, food and wine fairs, youth meetings, and ludic-educational projects for the little ones, are some of the many cultural initiatives promoted by the municipal administration, within the extraordinary setting of the Sassi of Matera region.
Visitors to the city of Sassi, among other things, will be able to take part in themed guided tours, scheduled from morning until evening, and get to know the historical, social and naturalistic aspects of Matera.
Guided tours will include the places from famous films that many directors have shot in Sassi and in the Murgia Park, such as the steps of the Via Crucis, the tomb of Christ, and Golgota.
On Easter Monday, from the Murgia mountain, where 3 crosses are hoisted in front of the Sassi districts, enthralling naturalistic excursions begin: moments in which to discover the beauty of the Park, the caves of the Basilian monks dug into the rock, the fascinating stone paths and the views from above where you can get lost in the magnificent sight of the historic center.
