Matera: Sassi, rock churches and paths through the Murgia

Matera between Sassi, rock and history

Matera combines an unusual cityscape with a landscape in which nature and human use are closely interwoven. The Sassi World Heritage Site and the Park of the Rock Churches comprise houses, churches, monasteries and hermitages built into the natural caves of the Murgia. The Murgia within the World Heritage Site is a limestone high plateau shaped by deep fissures, gorges, rocks and caves. As a result, Matera is not experienced solely through individual sights, but through the interplay of city, rock and open terrain.

The historic old town includes the Barisano and Caveoso districts, as well as Casalnuovo and the backbone of the city known as the “Piano”. Today, 155 rock churches carved into the tuff are documented in Matera. The Parco della Murgia Materana complements this cultural picture with valleys, gorges, terraces and high plateaus featuring botanically and zoologically significant species. Those interested in architecture, history and landscape will therefore find different ways here to experience a coherent destination.

On foot between the Sassi and the Murgia

The streets that climb up to the Civita are accessible only on foot and lead into Matera’s city centre. This is an important characteristic for finding your way around: paths, stairs and changes in elevation are an integral part of the city experience. Trail 406 connects the Sassi with the Murgia Timone high plateau via a panoramic route and crosses the Gravina stream on a suspension bridge. The trail begins at Porta Postergola (Porta Pistola) and has an elevation difference of approximately 200 metres.

Casa Noha is also a starting point for walking tours through the Sassi and the Murgia. The visitor route in Murgia Timone includes a fortified Neolithic village, an ancient cistern with a roof and the rock church of San Falcione. The park’s viewpoint on Murgia Timone is opposite the Sassi of Matera. The nearby area also includes Parco IV Novembre, Parco Macamarda and Villa dell'Unità d'Italia; all three are considered parks. The rock church of Sant’Agostino al Casalnuovo is included in the visit.

Caves, museums and local culture

Matera’s museums take visitors from prehistory to modern art. MUSMA is a cave museum dedicated entirely to sculpture. Its collection covers Italian and international sculpture from the late 19th century to the present day. The Ridola Museum displays collections and exhibition areas dedicated to the Neolithic, Palaeolithic and prehistoric periods. At the Ridola site, the Rizzon Collection includes Greek-colonial ceramics from the colonies on the Ionian Gulf. The ethnographic collection of the Ridola Museum includes, among other things, bread stamps and carved wooden spoons.

Since 2003, Palazzo Lanfranchi has been home to the National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Basilicata. The exhibition tour is divided into three sections; works by Carlo Levi and Luigi Guerricchio are permanently displayed on the ground floor. The Museo Laboratorio della Civiltà Contadina, an ethnographic-anthropological museum in the historic Sassi district, offers a different perspective on everyday life. It is located in a 16th-century basement Lamione that extends the volume of a network of existing caves, and covers more than 500 m².

Casa Noha is a historic house where a multimedia project presents the history of the city of Matera. At the Matherarium, you can visit the well-preserved underground Ipogei Motta; at the same time, the site conveys the development of a living space that was important for human life. The visit also includes the historic Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario. Casa Grotta offers multilingual audio explanations in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese.

Casa di Ortega offers further insights into local art history. Twenty polychrome bas-reliefs created during José Ortega’s stay in Matera are displayed there. The works were created together with master craftsmen from Matera using an innovative application of an old papier-mâché technique. Casa di Ortega also offers educational activities for families and schools of all grade levels.

Religious sites and underground spaces

The rock monastery complex of Madonna delle Virtù and San Nicola dei Greci was founded in the 10th or 11th century. The Crypt of Original Sin can be visited by prior reservation. It was the place of worship of a Benedictine rock monastery from the Lombard period and is decorated with a fresco cycle from the 8th to the 9th century. The Palombaro Lungo is an underground cistern for water collection located beneath Piazza Vittorio Veneto. The visit takes place via convenient walkways running above the water.

Getting there and planning a suitable stay

For travel to the area, the railway operated by Ferrovie Appulo Lucane connects Bari and Matera. In Matera, this connection serves the Matera Centrale and Matera Sud railway stations. When choosing your hotel, you can therefore first consider which focus you would like to have: the historic city with its museums and cave spaces, walks through the Sassi or routes towards Murgia Timone. Matera offers an unusual combination of a densely historic urban space and a wide-open rocky plateau. This allows you to tailor your choice of accommodation to your interests and your preferred daily rhythm without separating the destination’s different sides from one another.

Places in the surrounding area

Metaponto, Tinchi, Montalbano Jonico, Miglionico, Grottole, Matera, Stigliano, Marconia, Peschiera, Policoro, Lido Di Metaponto, Lido Quarantotto, Marina Di Pisticci, Pisticci, Bernalda, Lido Di Scanzano, Ferrandina, Montescaglioso, Rotondella, San Giorgio Lucano, Pomarico, Aliano, Accettura, Nova Siri, Grassano, Tursi, Salandra, Irsina

In the immediate vicinity of Matera is Palazzo dell’Annunziata, which is considered a palace. Also nearby are Ipogeo Materasum, Ex Ospedale San Rocco and Antica Abitazione il Ponticello e Museo Laboratorio dell'Arte Sacra e Presepiale; they are considered museums. In the wider regional surroundings of Matera is Monte Carbone, which is considered a mountain.

To the main travel overview: Basilicata.