Until 2017, it was an old abandoned building on Casalnuovo Street in Matera; one of the many typical houses entirely built with tuff, in the area that represents the gateway to the ancient Sassi district. Casalnuovo Street is, in fact, the latest settlement in the long process of expansion of the Sassi of Matera, on the southern slope, namely the Sasso Caveoso. Overcoming the dilapidation and degradation in which the building was, today the same space takes shape as a housing proposal that clearly and precisely expresses the will of two brothers from Puglia, who have chosen to live in Matera. This is how Casa MATERiA is born.
This is the name that the two inhabitants have given to their house. Casa MATERiA, whose name wants to immediately express the identity and deep nature of a house inserted in a particular historical and urban context, arises from a precise human and cultural project, even before it is architectural. In a city like Matera, where everything is shaped by the eternal charm of a material like tuff, with which man has been in contact since the beginning of his history, it seemed essential to root the idea of ??home to the concept of matter itself. Casa MATERiA is, therefore, the space where hospitality and welcoming, the desire for encounters and widespread residency take shape and substance, become living matter, even for those who do not habitually live in the house. Casa MATERiA is the place to reside and experience all possible variations of a home and much more. Casa MATERiA affirms the value as the raw material of human life, of relationships between people, of the pleasure of being together, of the intersection between different stories that belong to the one great narrative of life. Casa MATERiA offers a wide range of experiential paths with the firm belief that beauty can still inhabit our world and that it can, every day, freely arise from the mutual willingness to welcome it, from those who arrive in a place and from those who, instead, open the door of their own home in that place.
Casa MATERiA offers its guests an extraordinary experience: a refined selection of teas and herbal infusions. The consumption of ancient beverages, which are linked to rituals and ceremonies of great symbolic and cultural value, combines with the rich and fruitful tradition of baking, ancient flours, and natural yeasts, in a captivating and genuinely passionate gastronomic journey. Casa MATERiA offers special tasting, entertainment, and training opportunities in an environment that allows for significant discoveries of a fascinating and rich world like that of the table. Casa MATERiA is therefore a kitchen and a territory that offers visitors a journey into the traditions of the table and the pleasures of short food supply chains.
The pantry of Casa MATERiA includes:
- Artisanally produced jams made from organically grown fruits.
- Bread and baked goods made with ancient and whole grain flours and true sourdough obtained from the fermentation of seedless grapes.
- Nomadic beekeeping honey from local producers.
- High-quality and carefully selected teas and herbal infusions.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil made according to the best traditions of Apulian and Lucanian regions, and much more.
The journey and knowledge of a place are primarily experienced through food and what a territory can offer at the table.
Casa MATERiA is a house that strongly resembles its inhabitants, reflecting their personalities and characters. In Casa MATERiA, architecture, design, and creativity live together, resulting in a project where everything speaks the simple language of pure and foundational materials: tuff, stone, wood, iron, and glass.
The interior design of the house and every object that furnishes the space has been custom-designed and crafted by one of the two homeowners. Self-production has characterized this unique experience from the beginning, where one person embodies the triple role of client, designer, and contractor. Moreover, each element was created directly on-site, as Casa MATERiA, before being a residence, was also the furniture production workshop.
In the plurality and richness of the personalities that inhabit Casa MATERiA, the peculiarities of the other homeowner are also associated with this unusual construction narrative. As a passionate cook and expert tea and herbal tea connoisseur, they offer special tasting, entertainment, and educational opportunities in a setting that allows for significant discoveries of a fascinating and history-rich world, such as the table.
Casa MATERiA offers a wide range of experiential paths, firmly believing that beauty can still inhabit our world. It believes that beauty can be born freely every day from the mutual willingness to welcome it, both from those who arrive in a place and from those who open the door of their own home in that place.
Matera is an ancient city that today presents itself as a perfect synthesis of a long and complex settlement process that has evolved over many centuries and has been able to combine various concurrent factors on a geographic, geological, architectural, social, and economic level: a unique form of urbanization and landscape organization, born out of great poverty but sustained by an inexhaustible and tenacious settlement will. The complexity of the urban system of the Sassi, the long-standing practice of excavation and approximation to the depth reached in the removal of rocky material from the facades of the gravina, and the stratification of the stages of human history starting from the cave civilization, are a heritage that now finds new and vibrant expression in an action aimed at hospitality that Casa MATERiA wants to offer through a cultural and creative activity deeply rooted in the history of the place.
