Guide - Matera from the Sassi to the new city There have been many guides and illustrated books about the Sassi of Matera. Some are estimable products of studies and researches that describe the birth and the evolution of the unique hamlet that the Sassi of Matera represent. This handbook, on the other hand, is not so ambitious as the others, and does not offer unpublished assertions on the origins and on the history of these ancient quarters. But while reading through it, it is immediately clear what the Sassi are, what they represented in the past and what they represent today for the city of Matera.