{"id":2770,"date":"2018-12-18T10:07:55","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T09:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/?p=2770"},"modified":"2019-07-17T15:56:13","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T13:56:13","slug":"capital-of-culture-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/capital-of-culture-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital of Culture 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Matera in Southern Italy and Plovdiv in Bulgaria – both cities are this year\u2019s European Capitals of Culture. In the following, we\u2019re going to reveal why they are worth a visit.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matera: Grotto-Churches and Cave-Dwellings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the very south of Italy next to its boarder to Apulia there\u2019s the picturesque village of Matera. Ever since, Italy\u2019s cities and villages have been well known for their rich cultural history. Nevertheless, Matera is unique. The reason for this lies in the city\u2019s special connection to its surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cave-Settlement Sassi Di Matera<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The village lies on a plateau, covered with hills and rocks of relatively soft tuff and karst. It is due to these geological features that the world-famous cave-settlement could emerge – the Sassi di Matera<\/strong>. As early as 1993 it was included on UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage List.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Capital<\/a>
The cave settlement of Sassi di Matera was built on a plateau and has been an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Already the people in the Young Stone Age appreciated the benefits of the crevices and caves, created by wind and rain. In the course of centuries, the villagers burrowed even deeper caves into the rock, where they used to live until the 1960s – without electricity or tap water. That\u2019s why, at last, they were relocated to a newly constructed neighborhood. Nowadays, some of those cave-dwellings and grotto-churches are redecorated and mirror impressive human creativeness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"View<\/a>
View from above to the city of Sassi di Matera.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matera\u2019s Historic District<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best way to discover the old town\u2019s tiny houses, which are nestling against each other, is by foot. Within those narrow and steep lanes, you\u2019ll feel like you were on a journey through time. It\u2019s amazing to see how city and nature have merged into one throughout time. Rock shelters are used as exterior walls, ditches as alleys – everything fits into each other. Considering these impressions, it\u2019s not a bit surprising that some areas of the village are part of UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage List and it was chosen as Capital of Culture 2019 as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also interesting:<\/em><\/strong> City Trip to Lisbon – Where City-Trekking is pure bliss<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plovdiv – Bulgaria\u2019s unknown Beauty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The history of Bulgaria\u2019s second biggest city Plovdiv is varied. Throughout the 6,000 years of settlement history, the city got conquered by Macedonian kings, Thracian emperors, the Romans, Crusaders and Ottomans. When strolling through Plovdiv\u2019s historic old town you\u2019ll pass several sights originating in many different ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"View<\/a>
Plovdiv\u2019s historical old town – Strolling through European Baroque. Photo: Ilia Markov<\/a> from Sofia, Bulgaria – Flickr<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Roman Theaters and Arenas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Romans left a very well conserved ancient Theater, which, nowadays, is still used for operas, concerts and stage plays. It\u2019s placed high above Plovdiv on one of the city\u2019s seven hills. From there you\u2019ll have a sensational view over Plovdiv – take a seat in one of the nearby caf\u00e9s and enjoy the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also interesting:<\/em><\/strong> Outdoor vacation in So\u010da Valley in Slovenia – For outdoor enthusiasts So\u010da Valley in Slovenia is heaven on earth<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should definitely visit the Roman arena as well. Like the famous ancient Greek city of Delphi, it was used for sporting competitions, hosting about 30,000 fanatic spectators cheering for their favorite athletes. However, in the course of time, buildings were carelessly erected upon the arena. These days, you can simply cast a glance down at the ancient stadium from Plovdiv\u2019s present-day shopping streets. Some areas of the former arena lay open, though, and a visitor center provides interesting information about the stadium\u2019s history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Roman Stadium in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv. Photo: rivigan<\/a>, flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plovdiv\u2019s historical old town – Strolling through European Baroque<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even without fundamental architectural knowledge you\u2019ll immediately realize you\u2019re laying eyes on something unique. You can discover gorgeous baroque houses – appearing like jewels – from the age of the so called Bulgarian National Revival (19th<\/sup> century). By now, most of them house museums and exhibitions. Here you can find an overview of all possible activities: Arrival Guides<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Red<\/a>
Baroque house in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Capital of Culture 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two cities clearly do deserve the title Capital of Culture 2019. However, if you should, at some point, feel exceedingly bored of culture both Matera and Plovdiv are surrounded by tremendous landscapes offering great possibilities for hiking, riding a bike or trips in general – outdoor lovers will rejoice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matera in Southern Italy and Plovdiv in Bulgaria – both cities are this year\u2019s European Capitals of Culture. In the following, we\u2019re going to reveal why they are worth a visit. Matera: Grotto-Churches and Cave-Dwellings In the very south of Italy next to its boarder to Apulia there\u2019s the picturesque village of Matera. Ever since, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[79],"class_list":{"0":"post-2770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-traveling","8":"tag-city-trip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tatonka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}