Matera achieved an almost legendary status ever since Mel Gibson chose this ancient city as the location for filming The Passion of the Christ in 2003, but it is really its inscription on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1993 that cemented its importance in human history. Stay in one of the converted cave dwellings and experience it for yourself with a half- or full-day guided walk of the city.
Overnight in Matera
From S$130/person (group of 4 persons)
Select from the activities below (you can remove them later if you wish to):
Half-day guided visit
Full-day guided visit
Lunch in a typical trattoria
90-min excursion across the ravine for panoramic view of the city
Crypt of the Original Sin
Only open to the public in 2005, this cave has been in use since the Paleolithic times. Nicknamed "The Sistine Chapel of Rupestrian Art", it was transformed into a place of worship in the second half of the 8th century into what we see today. Visits are for up to maximum of 20 persons and strictly limited to 30 minutes each time due to its extremely fragile state, and also require a walk of 700m from the ticket office. Good walking shoes recommended. Combine this with visit to other nearby monuments or nature reserve. Picture ©Fondazione Zétema Matera
2-hour guided visit incl. of entry fee
Return transfer by car/minivan from Matera
Altamura is best known in southern Italy for its bread, for which its fame began some 2 thousand years ago, but that's not the only attraction that that makes a visit worthwhile. The city itself is older than Rome, and you find things to see from the Renaissance going all the way back to some 150,000 years ago at the town's archaeological museum.
half-day guided visit with lunch featuring Altamura bread
Castelsaraceno
This tiny mountain village located between two immense national parks is not only a welcome rest stop for a day's hike, but boasts something that no other village has: the world's longest suspension footbridge spanning nearly 600m over the gorge below. But there are plenty of other things you can do here, all to do with country life. Picture Corriere dell Sera
2-hour guided visit
Half-day experience with cheesemakers and tasting of cheeses.
Half-day mushroom and chestnut picking experience
Spend a day with a shepherd
Access to suspension footbridge
Like Matera, Gravina di Puglia is also perched on the edge of a ravine, in an area with dotted caves, and has a history going back to the paleolithic. Yet the two are very different from each other. Gravina is undoubtedly the more intimate of the two, and it's well worth your while to visit and experience. Combine this with your visit to Altamura. Picture ©Wikimedia Commons
From S$130 per person (group of 4 persons)
A seaside resort with a major difference: this is the only one that comes with ancient Greek ruins! See these 2600 year old ruins with a visit archaeological museum and a quick stopover at the small castle of Bernauda nearby. Picture by Σπάρτακος for Wikimedia Commons
half-day guided visit incliding archaeological museum
Craco
A series of landslides in the 1960s caused residents to abandon this little village, leaving it as a host town so evocative that many have made this a set location for their films, include Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in 2004. Picture by Giuseppe Milo for Wikimedia Commons
Montalbano Jonico
The heavily eroded clay ravines below this town lend an almost otherworldly feel. If you happen to be visiting Craco this is one little stopover you might like to take in this most surreal landscape. Picture Wikimedia Commons.
Excursion by car/minivan from Matera
Pietragalla, Potenza & surroundings
This village has the unique park consisting of 200 caves once used for storing grapes and wine-making, part of an ancient tradition found throughout the Mediterranean of which remain only these. Combine this with a visit to Potenza just a few kilometres away and the surrounding countryside. Picture by Roberto Pellechia
Overnight in Matera or Potenza
Full-day guided visit including surrounding countryside
Half-day transport by car/minivan from Matera
Full-day transport by car/minivan from Matera
Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano
These two villages, considered to be among the most beautiful in Italy for their dramatic setting among the rugged mountains of the Lucanian Dolomites, have to be seen to be believed. Often visited together, these village are also connected via an ancient shepherd's trail called the "Path of the Seven Stones" or, for the more adventurous, a thrilling 1.5km high-speed cable zipline that takes you over the spectacular scenery at 120km/h (May-November only). Definitely worth staying a night or more.
Overnight in Matera, Castelmezzano or Pietraapertosa
From S$150 per person (4 persons per group)
Full-day guided visit incl. walking the Path of the Seven Stones
Zip-line Flight of the Angels (May-Nov only)
Accettura
1000 year-old Accettura is a classic mountain village of southern Italy, located right in the heart of the Gallipoli Cognato Forest Reserve, offers both the anbience of an ancient settlement along with the excitement of outdoor activities in nature, ranging from wildlife-watching to bouldering, to to hunting for ancient prehistoric structures hidden in the woods.
Overnight in Pietrapertosa, Castelmezzano or Accettura.
From S$130/person (4 persons per group)
Half-day guided visit by car/minivan
Full-day guided visit by car/minivan
Bouldering experience (appropriate clothing required)
Laterza is a classic southern Italian town which happens to sit just above one of the largest ravines in Europe, providing visitors with both architectural and natural wonders to enjoy. visit the town to savour its ancient history and the panoramic vista of the ravine, or explore the ravine itself on foot or by donkey.
Overnight in Matera or Laterza
Half-day nature and cave exploring in the ravine
Mugia Materana Regional Park
Rugged regional park next to the gorge of the Torrente Gravina, with churches carved out of the cliffs, some with 8th-c. frescoes. Quite a unique hiking experience that combines wild nature with ancient history. Appropriate clothing and good walking/hiking shoes recommended.
Duration: 3-7 hours.
Half-day guided hike
Full-day guided hike
San Giuliano Lake and Nature Reserve
A nature reserve centred around one of te few lakes in Basilicata that is a haven for many aquatic bird species. Combine a walk here with a visit to the Crypt of the Original Sin nearby. Picture by Pietro Paolo Palumbo for Wikimedia Commons
Duration: 2-5 hours depending on activity