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Matera Tours

Our most recommended Matera Tours

Matera: Guided Tour of Sassi di Matera

1. Matera: Guided Tour of Sassi di Matera

Embark on a day out in Sassi and explore the ancient neighbourhoods with a live guide. See a series of grottoes carved out of limestone and marvel at the Sasso Barisano and the Sasso Caveoso. Your tour will begin at the meeting point in Via Alessandro Volta. From here, your expert guide will lead you to the Church of San Francesco, situated in the historic centre of the city. Next, you’ll continue along a panoramic road comprised of narrow streets and winding alleys. After arriving at the Rupestre Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, you’ll find a pleasant surprise waiting inside: a classic example of the traditional culture of this remarkable city. Afterwards, you’ll move on to visit a typical Matera cave-house before continuing along Via Madonna delle Virtù and Porta Pistoia "Pert P’stèl" to conclude your cultural adventure.

Matera: Sassi di Matera Guided Tour

2. Matera: Sassi di Matera Guided Tour

Meet your guide at Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Matera. From here, your expert guide will introduce you to the districts of Sassi. From the square, head to the heart of the historical center, where you will find the wonderful Apulian-Romanesque Church of San Giovanni Battista. Continue with a visit to Casa Cava, a hypogeum used in ancient times as a quarry, today turned into a convention center, thanks to outstanding restoration work. Stop at Sasso Barisano, to visit the rock church of Sant'Antonio Abate where you’ll find a pleasant surprise waiting inside, a classic example of the traditional culture of this remarkable city.  Move on to Sasso Caveoso to visit a typical Matera cave-house before continuing along Via Madonna delle Virtù and Porta Pistoia. Make a short stop at Piazza San Pietro Caveoso and stroll down one of the main streets of Sassi, Via Bruno Buozzi, to reach the second rock church of Madonna delle Grazie. Continue to the Baroque Church of Purgatorio. Next stop will be Piazza San Francesco d’ Assisi where you will visit the church dedicated to the Saint and from there you will move to Piazza del Sedile, Parliament's headquarters during the domination of the Kingdom of Naples. Finish your tour with a visit to the magnificent Apulian-Romanesque Cathedral, overlooking the highest part of the city.

Matera: Guided Walking Tour

3. Matera: Guided Walking Tour

You will meet a local tour guide in the main square, Piazza Vittorio Veneto, where you'll begin your walking tour admiring the landscape of the historic center from unique viewpoints. Then the tour will lead you through the historic center, covering topics of Matera history on the way. Matera is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been chosen as the 2019 European Capital of Culture, an important acknowledgment for its history and beauty which has been carved in stone.  Walking among the "Sassi" (the ancient neighborhoods of Sasso Barisano e Sasso Caveoso), you will discover the cave houses and churches carved in the rock, as well as the newly restored Cathedral. From the Cathedral which is built on a high point of the hill, you will enjoy enchanting views over the historic center and of Murgia Materana Park, an area characterized by hills and Mediterranean vegetation.  Over the course of 2 hours, you will be completely immersed in a magical unique land, seeing all of the major sights of Matera.

Original Sin Crypt with tasting and transfer

4. Original Sin Crypt with tasting and transfer

Discover the beautiful frescoes of the Original Sin Crypt with ticket included and transfer from Matera. Discover the history of this ancient cave and its captivating art with an audio guide. Meet your driver at the meeting point in Matera; then, drive for about 20 minutes to the crypt in an air-conditioned minivan. Upon arrival, enter the natural cave and prepare to be amazed by the cave paintings that date back to the 8th century. See various depictions of biblical scenes, including that of Adam and Eve giving the crypt its name. Listen to how the cave was used as a church by Benedictine monks and discover how the frescoes show the typical properties of Benedictine art of the time. After the tour of the crypt, you will return to Matera and you will be taken back to the original meeting point.

Matera: Handcraft in love

5. Matera: Handcraft in love

Enter this wonderful workshop where you will begin to create with your own hands a real work of art, immersing your hands in clay! The handmade that you will produce expresses history, culture and tradition, and clay, the raw material present in Basilicata, is transformed into a precious material: ceramics. Since the Neolithic, terracotta has left evidence of the presence of man, eight thousand years ago. The terracotta leaves traces of artistic appearance. In the laboratory you will create the famous Cuckoo, the whistle of the culture of Matera: bitonal and onomatopoeic, tells the tradition even under the guise of a pledge of love.

Walking Tour of Matera at Sunset

6. Walking Tour of Matera at Sunset

Begin your journey at Matera’s main square, the Piazza Vittorio Veneto, where you will meet the tour guide who will take you on a walking tour of the city of the "Sassi", a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the European Capital of Culture 2019. From 6 PM explore Matera as the sun sets and the city’s lights flicker on, illuminating the human dwellings that have existed in the Sassi di Matera since the Paleolithic period. Explore the ancient districts of Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso where houses and churches were dug into the rock. Take an optional guided visit of a cave-dwelling before heading to one of the highest points of the city, where you can visit a Rupestrian church and hear more about the history of Matera from your guide. The historic center of Matera also allows you to look out from the many balconies to view the Sassi and the Murgia National Park below.

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What people are saying about Matera

Overall rating

4.7 / 5

based on 242 reviews

Annalisa was a fabulous tour guide. Having a tour guide whose own grandparents experienced the Sassi was really eye opening. She was extremely engaging and shared with us so much history about Matera. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who is looking to learn more about this magical city.

The tour was very well organized. Our local guide Lucia was really very amazing, kind and knew all about the place. She guided us among the Sassi explaining lots of things that are unknown if you do not have a local guide. I was very satisfied and I recommend this tour

We walked around Sassi di Matera and the old town as the tour guide explained the history of the area. We were a small group of about 8-10 people and the tour lasted about two hours maybe more.

Maria Teresa was our supurb guide through the 2 neighbourhoods of Matera. She was knowledgable, patient, kind and totally worth the drive to Matera. A++

The guide was excellent. Deep knowledge about history.