Basilicata · Italy
In the destination Apúlia and Matera.
In the photo: Sasso Caveoso, Matera
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The city
Matera, in the Basilicata region, near the border with Apulia, is known for the Sassi: the Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano, neighborhoods of houses and churches carved into the rock above the Gravina ravine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Between the two lies the Civita, with its Romanesque cathedral. There are rock-hewn churches with frescoes, the furnished Casa Grotta, the Palombaro Lungo cistern and viewpoints such as the one at Parco della Murgia Materana on the other side of the ravine.
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The local experience
The oldest and most rustic of the two Sassi, with houses carved in steps like an amphitheater, the church of San Pietro Caveoso and, above, the rock churches of the Monterrone overlooking the Gravina ravine.
The Sasso facing north, toward Bari, with houses that have elaborately worked facades, carved portals and the rock church of San Pietro Barisano, the largest in the city.
Romanesque cathedral of Apulia, built between 1230 and 1270 at the highest point of the Civita, between the two Sassi, dedicated to the Madonna della Bruna and Sant'Eustachio.
Rock-cut church atop the Monterrone, the rock in the middle of Sasso Caveoso, linked by a corridor to the crypt of San Giovanni in Monterrone, with frescoes dating from the 12th to the 17th centuries.
Rock‑cut church of Sasso Caveoso linked to an 11th‑century Benedictine nunnery, with 13th‑century frescoes, including a Nursing Madonna and the archangel Gabriel.
House dug into the rock in the Sasso Caveoso, furnished with original furniture and objects, showing how a family lived in the Sassi, together with the animals, before the evacuations of the 1950s.
Huge cistern excavated beneath the Piazza Vittorio Veneto, about 16 meters deep and with a capacity of 5 million liters, visited in guided groups via walkways.
Museum of contemporary sculpture housed in the Palazzo Pomarici and in caves carved into the rock, at the top of the Sasso Caveoso, with works by Italian and foreign artists.
17th-century palace, former seminary, which houses the national museum of medieval and modern art of Basilicata, featuring the large panel Lucania '61 by Carlo Levi.
Park of the rock-cut churches on the other side of the Gravina ravine, with dozens of excavated churches, Neolithic villages and the Belvedere di Murgia Timone, which faces Matera.
Benedictine cave-church about 14 km from Matera with frescoes from the 8th and 9th centuries depicting the Creation and Original Sin. Visits by reservation only.
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