Matera by night Photo

Photographer’s Note

Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the "Sassi di Matera" (meaning "stones of Matera"). The Sassi originate from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy.
The Sassi are houses dug into the rock itself, known locally as "Tufo", which is characteritic of Basilicata and Puglia. Many of these "houses" are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often are located on the rooftops of other houses. The ancient town grew in height on one slope of the ravine created by a river that is now a small stream. The ravine is known locally as "la Gravina".
In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city. However, people continued to live in the Sassi, and according to the English Fodor's guide:

“ Matera is the only place in the world where people can boast to be still living in the same houses of their ancestors of 9,000 years ago. ”

Until the late 1980s this was considered an area of poverty, since these houses were, and in most areas still are, mostly unlivable. Current local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and has promoted the re-generation of the Sassi with the aid of the European Union, the government, UNESCO, and Hollywood. Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs, and hotels.
One of the benefits of the ancient city, is that there is a great similarity in the look of the Sassi with that of ancient sites in and around Jerusalem. This has caught the eye of film directors and movie studios(The Passion - Mel Gibson).
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

meltemi, broglia, adores, grigand, turkamerikali, eleparc, vinicio, giorgimer, Vato_Law, guifav has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

meltemi (9746) 2007-05-29 8:39

Ciao Paolo,
magistrale foto in notturna, sei riuscito a catturare tutti i minimi particolari con grande originalità, creando una veduta incredibile. I colori sono fantastici, si respira una certa magia nell'aria...
Bravo e cordiali saluti.
Stella

francesav (622) 2007-05-29 9:05

Ciao Paolo
bellissimi colori, sembra un piccolo presepe!
Saluti.
Francesco.

manada (6237) 2007-05-29 9:06

Ciao Paolo...Ah è così, amico mio??
Ora mi fai concorrenza sulle foto?? :))
Molto singolare la coincidenza che ci vede protagonisti, sarà telepatia?
Bellissima la veduta notturna con la chiesa sulla sommità della collina. Immagine molto nitida e ben esposta. Bravissimo!!
Buona giornata
Freddy

silviab (1578) 2007-05-29 10:42

Ciao Paolo,
hai deciso di pubblicarla, infine... Molto bella, con colori nitidi e ottimo POV. Riconosco la gru sul fondo, vicino alla chiesa, che c'è anche nella mia foto, in versione diurna.
A presto
silvia

adores (15841) 2007-05-29 19:00

Hi Paolo!
Great night shot of this old town.I like this perspective showing the old streets and that church in the background. Great work, I really like the light you got here!
Regards, Anabela

hay_kes (28596) 2007-05-30 2:03

Hi Paolo,
Very nice night shot.Great light and colours.Well done.TFS.
Ciao!

hAyAti

gulnilgun (1966) 2007-05-30 9:19

so clear night shot,
lights are charming,
good job Paolo,
regards,
nilgun

Silvio1953 (43412) 2007-05-30 13:20

Ciao Paolo, è la terza foto di Matera che commento nell'arco di 24 ore, ed è un piacere perchè è uno dei luoghi magici d'Italia che non ho mai visto, anche il tuo notturno e splendido, ricco di fascino, ben ripreso l'incanto di un luogo unico, bravo, ciao Silvio

grigand (12882) 2007-05-30 16:22

Ciao Paolo,
La tua notturna è veramente magnifica, la luce perfetta, ottimi i dettagli, crea un'atmosfera veramente magica !Bravo
Ciao
Andrea

turkamerikali (4772) 2007-05-31 1:46

Ciao Paolo,
Excellent Matera Night shot.
I like your exposure,focus,sharpness,colors,note and city details.TFS
Ciao,
CT

Clementi (45849) 2007-05-31 4:14

Ciao Paolo ,
ottima realizzazione notturna ,
molto ben gestita la luce e i colori.
ma che avete fatto un raduno a Matera.
Giorgio

brevbrev14 (372) 2007-05-31 4:51

ciao Paolo, molto bella questa vista di Matera di notte!
ottima la tua composizione!
e tecnicamente anche molto ben fatta!
bravo!
ciao!
Valeria

evanrizo (456) 2007-05-31 6:38

Ciao Paolo, for sure is a very nice town and for sure it has very nice view to see while you walk there.
A nice work ftom you.
TFS
later...

Julian_K (1055) 2007-06-03 7:34

Hi Paolo,
Lovely nightime photo. I really like the lighting and colours. The composition to include the church is great. Thanks for sharing,
Jules

stevesaba (3976) 2007-06-03 11:55

Hi Paolo!
A very lovely shot! It would be quite an experience to walk through there at night....very romantic, in the ancient city. I have a shot taken in Thailand, on the beach, of a wonderful creation of sand castles, lit up with candlelight....I immediately thought of that when I saw your pic. Great job, take care,
Steve

eleparc (24059) 2007-06-04 6:39

la città è meravigliosa! e anche la tua foto! mi fa anche pensare alla Greccia, alle isole delle cyclades. bravissimo!

Eric

vinicio (22502) 2007-06-04 15:28

Bellissima e rara, bravo Paolo, una bella vista notturna della città, ottimamente pensata e realizzata, complimenti.
Ciao
Vinicio

giorgimer (21676) 2007-06-05 4:23

Ciao Paolo,

amo le prospettive che offre questa città davvero straordinaria, bellissima la tua foto con un ottimo punto di vista e bei colori caldi.

Complimenti!!

Giorgio

xavshot (63345) 2007-06-05 16:02

Bonsoir Paolo
cette succession de façades est très agréable et la lumière artificielle permet de donner une bonne unité et un excellent graphisme. J'aime beaucoup le résultat que tu as obtenu. Bravo
Xavier

rossy85 (2865) 2007-06-07 4:48

Paolo,
The night shot that you realized is amazing. Great light and colors, very difficult to capture so clearly all the lights and buildings but you did it!
Congratulations.
All my best,
Rossy

Vato_Law (11768) 2007-06-11 14:16

Hello Paolo,
Very nice night shot with the overview of the Matera's houses and their shapes.
I like the visual impact their shapes creates on the photo and the possibility we have to look down on some of the tiny streets.
Good exposure and light control.
Cheers,
Paulo

guifav (332) 2007-06-12 16:50

Ciao Paolo,
Magnifica foto. Sembra che tu l'abbia scattata dal miglior angolo che ci sia in città.
L'illuminazione è eccelsa.
Complimenti,
Guido

coco (28318) 2007-07-24 0:18

Hi Paolo.

Lovely night shot and also great wide composition.
The city lights create a wonderful atmosphere.

Well done.