The Sassi of Matera are now considered a masterpiece of architecture and engineering, but it was a national shame for the level of degradation reached in the last century. Cave churches, excavations in the rocks, numerous hypogea, and cisterns are outstanding examples of an architectural system, unique engineering and landscape in the world that allowed the Sassi to be listed as World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The management of water resources has strongly influenced the development and the overall structure of the Sassi. As a matter of fact, the ancient city is endowed with a number of storage systems that allowed a significant urban development in which rainwater were parsimoniously collected and accumulated in a system of tanks with different purposes and connections. The present paper depicts this system and provides a number of examples of the complex system of water management developed in this semiarid region.
How to cite: Manfreda, S., F.R. Dibernardi, L. Mita, S.F. Dal Sasso, M.V. Mininni, A. Bixio, A. Conte, R. Ermini, M. Fiorentino, WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE CITY OF SASSI (MATERA), L’Acqua, 3, 39-46, 2016. [pdf]