Areas: where to base yourself
- Sasso Barisano: the most cave hotels and restaurants; atmospheric but stepped.
- Sasso Caveoso: quieter, close to the rock churches and ravine views.
- Civita: high up near the cathedral, with views over both Sassi.
- Upper town (Piano): around Via Ridola and Piazza Vittorio Veneto; flatter, easier with a car, and often better value.
Food and drink
Try pane di Matera, the city’s durum-wheat bread, crapiata (a soup of pulses), cavatelli and strascinati pasta, and anything with peperoni cruschi, crisp dried sweet peppers. Red wines come from the Matera DOC and the Aglianico del Vulture area, and Amaro Lucano is the local digestif.
Money-saving tips
- Sleep in the upper town and walk down to the Sassi.
- Many of the best views are free: the Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio, Piazzetta Pascoli and Murgia Timone.
- Look for combined tickets to several rock churches.
Practicalities
Wear shoes with grip: the stone is slippery when wet. Summer afternoons are very hot in the ravine. The Sassi are not suited to wheelchairs or pushchairs, although the upper town is easier. Some sites close or shorten their hours in winter.
Sample plans
One day
Morning guided Sassi walk with a cave house and rock church, lunch in the Civita, the cathedral and Palombaro Lungo in the afternoon, sunset from Piazzetta Pascoli.
Two days
Add the Murgia park and the view from Murgia Timone, and an evening walk in the lit-up Sassi.
Three days
Add a day trip to Craco and Pisticci, or to the temples of Metaponto and the Ionian beaches.
