Matera: From slum to hidden gem — foxnews.com

You may have been to Rome, Venice or Amalfi Coast when visiting Italy, but chances are you’ve never visited Matera, let alone heard of it.   Although it has been inhabited as far back at the Paleolithic era, Matera--in southern Italy's Basilicata region-- was basically unknown to foreign tourists until the last few decades.  Once home to ancient people, the area became known as Italy's "national shame" after the book ‘Christ Stopped at Eboli’ was published in 1945 exposing the abhorrent conditions in which the people of Matera were living. Ravished by malaria, a high infant mortality rate and malnutrition, large families had nothing but caves to call home. And they shared them with wild animals, such as chickens and donkeys. 

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