Reading a territory through the recovery of ancient routes: the case of Matera.

In recent years, the notion of cultural heritage has come to encompass a growing number of domains including architecture, cities and landscape. It has also introduced the concept of "intangible heritage", meaning the habits, the ways and means of a given culture. That is why the study of a particular territory has become all the more important. It is a context in which the existence and activities of humans have been stratifying over time, producing a sense of belonging and community. Many architectural projects involving a territory aim to the preservation of a geographical area and its heritage by recovering its historical paths and landscape. Such is for instance the case of the Camino del Cid, the cultural itinerary that crosses Spain from the North-West to the South-East following the footsteps of the "Cid Campeador". Or the Via de la Plata, the ancient Roman road connecting Mérida and Astorga, an itinerary of 263 km that crosses the provinces of Salamanca, Zamora and León and includes several architectural and landscape designs. In the wake of these considerations, this project presents a 37 km long path using the ancient and almost forgotten “tratturi”, which criss-cross the territory around the city of Matera, especially the Parco della Murgia materana. Based on an historical analysis, it includes a few small architectural designs to evoke forgotten landscapes and to provoke feelings that allow a conscious reading and a new interpretation of the history of Matera