Matera, Basilicata

Matera is a fascinating town. Most Italians found out about this God-forsaken place when Carlo Levi described it in his Christ Stopped at Eboli. They were shocked to read about a town where people lived in caves with walls added in front. In the 1960s were many locals were resettled to better housing and in the last 20 years the government has done a lot to turn it into a tourist attraction. The final scenes of Gibson's Passion of the Chris were filmed here.