Matera: the Sassi through Trade, Consumption and Tourism

From Firenze University Press Journal: Bollettino della Società Geografica italiana

Ornella Albolino, Dipartimento di Scienze Umane, Università degli studi della Basilicata

Lucia Cappiello, Dipartimento delle Culture Europee e del Mediterraneo, Università degli Studi della Basilicata

The case study focuses on the Sassi of Matera and aims, as main objective, at highlighting the most significant and recent transformations that have characterized the area examined, from the point of view of trade and, in part, of consumption. From this point of view, the theoretical assumptions concern the relationship between urban spaces, commerce and consumption: analyzing these issues permits to understand the extent and rapidity of the changes occurring, in order to “build knowledge that results in appropriate policies, in connection with the social body involved” (Viganoni 2019b, 10).

Particular attention is paid to the impact of tourism development on urban spaces and, specifically, on the historical centres with their valuable cultural heritage. Especially in order to promote more suitable policies, starting from a deep knowledge of local context, trying to outline conditions of economic, social, as well as environmental sustainability, thus ensuring the well-being of communities, avoiding conflictual situations.

More generally, the paper contributes to the analysis of the new relationship between cities and tourism (Adamo 2012), a perspective that is also developed through European programmes that enhance the urban-cultural, material and immaterial heritage, with the asset of the big events (Richards, Palmer 2010). The event-process Matera European Capital of Culture (ECoC) 2019 (D’Alessandro, Stanzione 2018) has, in fact, strengthened the role of the city as tourist destination (Stanzione, Viganoni 2012), accelerating a number of changes, in part already underway within the urban fabric. This has happened exponentially within the Rioni Sassi, a UNESCO heritage site and main tourist attraction of Matera. Often, however, the changes that have occurred do not represent the product of a shared vision and, therefore, negative externalities are emerging, affecting mainly the residents (García 2004).

In Matera, tourism has modified the structure and characteristics of the city and, above all, those of a neighbourhood such as the Sassi, where one of the most evident aspects is the proliferation of accommodation and food & drink activities, mostly conceived for tourists (Finkelstein 1999). In detail, after a description of the main elements that define the origin and evolution of the Rioni, the contribution underlines the Sassi as an example of deterritorialization of the living function and reterritorialization of the commercial spaces in a tourist oriented key (Kärrholm 2012). Mainly starting from 2015 until today, there has been a deep metamorphosis of the commercial landscape in the Sassi as a direct con-sequence of tourism development. This phenomenon has accentuated the dichotomy between the rest of the city and the district, which has consolidated its tourist function, while facing the risk of triggering processes of so-called “trullizzazione” (Stanzione 2009, 8; Semi 2015).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/bsgi-990

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