Matera: the city in the rock, from national disgrace to UNESCO

Matera is best understood as a story of reversal: the cave quarters from which the state removed more than fifteen thousand people in 1952 are now on the UNESCO list, and in 2019 the city was a European Capital of Culture. Walking through that needs 2 days, and the first one begins on Piazza Vittorio Veneto, at the edge of the Sassi.

GuideMatera with all its pages, from Casa Grotta to Belvedere Murgia Timone:Matera →

Arriving, and the square above the cistern

From Bari airport the city is reached by bus, SITA Sud/Cotrap bus, line 900, and the ride takes about 1 h 15. The walk starts on the main square, Piazza Vittorio Veneto, and beneath it, in living rock, lies the Palombaro Lungo: a cistern from 1832, with pillars carved out of the stone itself and a vault higher than fifteen metres. Entry is €3, and after it the local way of building is clear: a hollow in the rock was a cistern, a house and a church.

Civita and the two Sassi

From the square the road drops into the Sassi, which take their name from the Latin saxum, 'stone'. They are two quarters on the slope of the Gravina ravine: Sasso Barisano faces Bari, Sasso Caveoso faces Montescaglioso. The houses are cut into calcarenite, a soft, porous limestone known here as tufo, so the whole hillside is pale and honeycombed. Walking it is free (free). On the raised Civita stands the cathedral, built in 1268–1270 and dedicated to Santa Maria della Bruna since 1389, and from there you can see how stairways, roofs and cave doorways tumble towards the ravine.

The real scale of the Sassi only shows inside. Casa Grotta is a restored cave dwelling, furnished as it was until the 1952 evacuation: one room for the family, the donkey and the chickens. Entry is €8, the visit takes 15 min, and afterwards the rest of the city reads differently, because you know who once lived behind those openings.

How disgrace became heritage

Carlo Levi showed Basilicata to the wider world in 1945 with 'Cristo si è fermato a Eboli' (Christ Stopped at Eboli), and Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi visited the Sassi in July 1950. A special law of 17 May 1952 then emptied the quarters: more than fifteen thousand people were moved to new districts on the plain. The Sassi stood abandoned for decades. A law of 1986 allowed people to return, and from the late 1980s restoration went ahead with the help of the European Union and UNESCO, which inscribed the Sassi on 9 December 1993. Matera was chosen as European Capital of Culture for 2019 on 17 October 2014.

1 dayThe Sassi in two days, step by step, with Casa Grotta and the rock churches:Matera in 1 day →

The rock churches

From there the route runs among the cave churches: about a hundred and fifty of them are scattered across the Murgia plateau and the slopes of the ravine, medieval, many with painted walls. Most need their own ticket, €3–5 per church, so it makes more sense to pick two or three and stay in them longer than to buy them all.

Belvedere Murgia Timone and the evening light

The day ends on the far side of the ravine, at the Murgia Timone viewpoint, from which the whole of the Sassi lies in front of you like one pale, tiered stage set. Entry is €10 (Apr–Oct), €7 (Nov–Mar), and a time slot is recommended. When the sun drops low, the pale stone turns to a warmer, honey colour, and it is easy to see why film crews came here: 'The Passion of the Christ' (2004) and 'No Time to Die' (2021) were shot in Matera.

Where to stayCave hotels and where to sleep in the Sassi:Where to stay in Matera →

FoodOrecchiette, cialledda and Matera bread, and where to eat them:What to eat in Matera →

When to goWhen Matera is at its best, and when it is too hot:The best time to visit Matera →