Thanks to the new edition of Agent 007’s Adventures, Matera may become one of the popular tourist attractions in sunny Italy. This is where the first scenes of the movie “Nie Czas się Die” take place. The hosts of Stone Town are counting on a huge increase in the number of tourists who visit, ready to follow in the footsteps of the James Bond movie.
When Tripadvisor published its ranking of places worth visiting before they became famous in July, they included, among other things, something. The city in the Basilicata region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apparently did not need additional advertising, until now.
The fact that Stone Town has become the backdrop to James Bond’s thrilling quest may be more of a hoax than a legacy. There are even estimates by the city authorities, that the patch “where Bond was filmed” will bring in tourism revenue of about 12 million euros. It is difficult to say whether these predictions will be confirmed. At the moment, fans of the adventures of Agent 007 have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of Matera on the screen.
Matera from Italy not only in the Bond movie
But this isn’t the first time this has happened. Matera was a movie that was made several times. Some scenes from Mel Gibson’s “Passion” and “Wonder Woman” were filmed here. As confirmed by the city’s mayor, Domenico Benardi, in an interview with “The Guardian”, from the summer of 2017 to the beginning of 2021, Matera hosted more than 140 film crews in its walls.
It’s hard to believe that until 1952 this was a cause for shame, often referred to as the Italy scandal. The historical part of the city, called Sassi, which consists of unique houses carved into the rock, contributed to this view. Before these rock houses became a masterpiece in the city and began to attract filmmakers, they were synonymous with poverty, extreme poverty and even backwardness.
The people who live in it live without electricity and running water, and they share confined spaces with animals. Sassi was deserted when its residents were moved to more modern homes. Until the 1980s, Sassi was still remembered for its dark history and overshadowed the future European capital of culture. The potential of the stone city was finally noticed, hotels, restaurants, and shops began to appear in the hollow caves, and Matera got a better second life. Time will tell what it will be like after Bond.
Main image source: stock struggle
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