Matera is a World UNESCO heritage site as well as the winner of the 2019 European Capital of Culture. The area of what is now Matera is believed to have been settled since the Palaeolithic (10th millennium BC), which means the area has been occupied continuously for at least three millennia . This makes it potentially one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in the world. And the 2021 James Bond film No Time to Die was filmed in Matera. The adjacent region of Puglia has had a recent boom in tourism and is reputed for having the best beaches in all of Italy. Also, unique to this region is the Trullo, a traditional Puglian dry stone hut with a conical roofs, which you see throughout the region. To the south, less than 30 minutes drive, you have the sandy beaches of the Ionian Sea and to the West you have the stunning rocky beaches of the Adriatic. Also, within an hour's drive you can visit the famous towns of Alberobello, Ostuni & Monopoli. Visit Francis Ford Coppola's Palazzo Margherita hotel in less than 20 minutes in the town of Bernalda. Less than an hour's drive from the Bari international airport also provides easy access to the Villa.