Matera's Nine Lives - Stina Roth Photography Exhibition

Stina Roth is a photographer from Helsinki who has been taking photographs for about 15 years. In recent years, her interest has turned towards nature and humanity's relationship with the environment. Matera's Nine Lives is her thesis exhibition from the Professional Skills in Nature Photography course, and the images were taken during a trip to Italy this spring.

Matera is a city in the province of Basilicata in southern Italy, known for the Sassi di Matera district - caves carved into soft limestone where people have lived since the Paleolithic era. Long regarded as a symbol of poverty, the area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the late 20th century, and today the old caves serve as homes, hotels, and cultural spaces.

In Matera's rocky urban landscape, cats are part of everyday life. They move freely on the stairs, in the shelter of caves, and through narrow alleys alongside residents and visitors - in Italy, street cat communities are protected by law and are allowed to live in the areas where they have established themselves. The exhibition's photographs examine this quiet coexistence: how people and cats share the same, time-layered everyday life on their own terms.