Many of our recent picks for the Instagram photo of the week have been travel destinations that are either luxurious or tranquil - sometimes both. This week, we went for something a little rough around the edges.
Located in Southern Italy, this shabby, rocky and seemingly rundown area of Matera doesn't really strike you as an alluring travel destination. But it's actually one of the more interesting destinations in Italy.
Its cliffs are filled with caves that have been inhabited by humans for centuries.
A post shared by Best City Breaks(@bestcitybreaks) on May 23, 2018 at 5:27am PDT
On their 2017 feature The miracle of Matera: from city of poverty and squalor to hip hub for cave-dwellers, British media platform, The Guardian, described Matera as, "One of Italy’s most deprived cities – so lacking hope that God was said to keep well away – is now an Airbnb hotspot and set to be European capital of culture."
Matera was transformed from a poverty-stricken town to a more livable city in the 1980s and has since been named a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of it being "the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem".