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Culture, art, faith, and popular tradition come together every year on July 2nd in the extraordinary setting of Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Southern Italy. The Feast of the Madonna della Bruna, the Patroness of the city, is a centuries-old celebration that exemplifies both tangible and intangible heritage. Central to the event is the grand Triumphal Cart: an elaborate machine in papier-mâché that carries in procession the statue of the Madonna. Each year, this baroque work of art is newly created by lo...

The rural landscape of Southern Italy is the result of centuries of interaction between natural resources and human practices. In the areas between Basilicata and Apulia, livestock farming was central from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century, shaping a territory organized around transhumance. This seasonal movement of herds across long distances required an articulated system of infrastructures, including tratturi (routes), masserie (farmhouses), and jazzi (sheepfolds). These elements formed a cultural an...