By the late 1800s, Matera's cave dwellings became noted for intractable poverty, poor sanitation, bad working conditions, and rampant disease. Evacuated in 1952(!!), the population was relocated to modern housing, and the Sassi (Italian for "stones") lay abandoned until the 1980s. Renewed vision and investment led to the cave dwellings becoming a noted historic destination.

Movies such as Passion of the Christ and Cristo si e fermato a Eboli (Carlo Levi) brought more attention to the region and forced the government to see the conditions and act upon it.