Matera: Sassi, Rock Churches and the Murgia Landscape

Matera combines a cultural landscape built into caves with a layered urban history. The Sassi World Heritage Site and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches encompass houses, churches, monasteries and hermitages in the natural caves of the Murgia. Exploring the city means encountering not just individual buildings, but a form of settlement closely connected to the rocky landscape.

The Sassi and Murgia: Living in the Rock

The historic old town includes the districts of Barisano, Caveoso and Casalnuovo, as well as the city’s central spine known as the Piano. Matera is home to 155 rock churches carved into tufa. The rock-hewn monastic complex of Madonna delle Virtù and San Nicola dei Greci was founded in the 10th or 11th century. Together, these places offer insight into different aspects of local architectural and religious history.

Within the World Heritage Site, the Murgia is a limestone plateau with deep fissures, ravines, rocks and caves. The Parco della Murgia Materana includes valleys, ravines, terraces and uplands, as well as species of botanical and zoological importance. The park’s viewpoint on Murgia Timone lies opposite the Sassi. From here, the rocky landscape can also be viewed from the open plateau side.

On foot between the city and the plateau

Sentiero 406 connects the Sassi with the Murgia Timone plateau via a panoramic route, crossing a suspension bridge over the Gravina stream. The trail starts at Porta Postergola, also known as Porta Pistola; the elevation change is about 200 metres. As trail conditions and access can change, it is advisable to check the latest information in advance. The streets leading up to the Civita can only be accessed on foot and lead to Matera city centre.

Another visitor route on Murgia Timone includes a fortified Neolithic village, an ancient covered cistern and the rock church of San Falcione. These stops bring together archaeological and religious history in a landscape also shaped by ravines and rock formations. When planning your days, you can distinguish this route from Sentiero 406: different places and trail features are described for each.

Museums and city history

MUSMA is a cave museum devoted entirely to sculpture. Its collection spans Italian and international sculpture from the late 19th century to the present day. Since 2003, Palazzo Lanfranchi has housed the National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Basilicata. The exhibition route is divided into three sections; works by Carlo Levi and Luigi Guerricchio are on permanent display on the ground floor.

The Ridola Museum dedicates collections and exhibition areas to the Neolithic, the Palaeolithic and prehistory. At the Ridola site, the Rizzon collection includes Greek colonial pottery from the colonies on the Ionian Gulf. The ethnographic collection includes, among other items, bread stamps and carved wooden spoons. The Museo Laboratorio della Civiltà Contadina offers a different perspective on everyday life in Matera: it is located in the historic Sassi district, in a 16th-century vaulted underground room connected to a network of existing caves. The museum covers more than 500 square metres in total.

Caves, water and special places to visit

Beneath Piazza Vittorio Veneto lies the Palombaro Lungo, an underground cistern for collecting water. It can be visited via convenient walkways suspended above the water. Casa Noha is a historic house where a multimedia project tells the story of Matera; it is also a starting point for walking tours of the Sassi and the Murgia. Audio explanations at Casa Grotta are available in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese.

The Crypt of the Original Sin was the place of worship for a Benedictine rock monastery dating from the Lombard period. It is decorated with a cycle of frescoes from the 8th to 9th century and can be visited by prior reservation. Matherarium offers visits to the well-preserved underground Ipogei Motta and explains the development of a type of dwelling important to human life. Casa di Ortega displays twenty polychrome bas-reliefs created during José Ortega’s stay in Matera. They were made in collaboration with local master craftspeople using an innovative adaptation of an old papier-mâché technique. Educational activities for families and schools at all grade levels are also offered there. Visiting, tour and educational options may change; check the latest conditions in advance.

Getting there and finding a hotel for your plans

The Ferrovie Appulo Lucane rail service between Bari and Matera serves Matera Centrale and Matera Sud stations. As routes and service patterns may change, it is worth checking the current timetable before travelling. Then compare the address of a specific hotel offer with the destinations and routes you actually plan to visit.

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

For the main travel overview: Basilicata.