Discover Matera: Sassi, Museums and Murgia

Matera takes you into an extraordinary rocky landscape where history and nature are closely intertwined. The World Heritage ensemble “The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera” includes houses, churches, monasteries and hermitages built into the natural caves of the Murgia. The settlement carved into the rock has a documented continuity spanning more than two millennia. This makes Matera an ideal destination for a stay combining historic spaces, museums and experiences in the landscape.

The Sassi as a starting point for cultural discoveries

In the historic centre of Matera, the two districts of Barisano and Caveoso have been preserved. Casa Noha presents a multimedia video that reconstructs Matera’s history from its origins to the present day. The museums also focus on different themes: MUSMA displays Italian and international sculpture from the late 19th century to the present day. Its collection is exhibited in the 16th-century Palazzo Pomarici in the heart of the Sassi.

The Museo Laboratorio della Civiltà Contadina is an ethnological and anthropological museum in the historic Sassi district. It is located in a subdivided 16th-century lamione that extends into a network of various pre-existing caves. At the Museo Archeologico nazionale Domenico Ridola, the ethnographic collection documents more than 400 predominantly carved wooden objects. In addition, 11 hypogeal structures discovered in Contrada Ciccolocane in Matera provide important archaeological evidence of the social organisation of that period.

Caves, cisterns and sacred history

The Palombaro Lungo is a large water-collection cistern beneath Piazza Vittorio Veneto. From the 16th century onwards, it was created in several construction phases as an artificial cavity and has a capacity of 5 million litres, a depth of 16 metres and a length of 50 metres. The Palombaro Lungo can be visited via convenient footbridges above the water. For visitors interested in the religious art of the rocky landscape, the Cripta del Peccato Originale is another notable site. It was the place of worship of a Benedictine rock monastery from the Lombard period and contains a fresco cycle from the 8th and 9th centuries, painted by the artist known as the “Painter of the Flowers of Matera”. Visits are possible by prior reservation.

The Murgia on foot or by mountain bike

The municipality of Matera recommends exploring the Sassi and the surrounding Murgia on foot. In the Parco della Murgia Materana, the Gravina di Matera, as a geological ravine, highlights a distinctive landscape. Birdwatching is also among the activities available to visitors there, particularly searching for birds of prey and other birds. Those who prefer an active way to explore the area can go mountain biking in the park on narrow paths connecting old farmsteads with rock settlements.

A specific route connection is provided by Sentiero 406. It connects the Sassi of Matera with the Murgia Timone plateau via a panoramic route that includes a footbridge over the Gravina stream. The route begins at Porta Postergola, also known as Porta Pistola. Jazzo Gattini, an old 19th-century sheep pen, houses a visitor centre. When planning your trip, you can therefore choose between museums and historic interiors, a hike through the rocky landscape, birdwatching or a mountain bike tour.

Which accommodation suits your stay

When looking for a holiday apartment in Matera, it is worth deciding what you want to focus on during your trip. If you primarily want to explore the Sassi, Casa Noha and the museums, a culture-focused stay is the obvious choice. For days in the Murgia, on the other hand, the geological formations, rock settlements, Sentiero 406 and birdwatching are key considerations. Accommodation in Matera can therefore serve as a starting point for very different day plans, without requiring you to commit to just one way of travelling. This combination of vivid history, unusual cave spaces and experiences in the landscape is also an opportunity for families to share discoveries while pursuing different interests.

You can find further destinations on this page under Policoro, Tursi, Pomarico, Tinchi, Lido Di Metaponto, Peschiera, Rotondella and Marconia.

For the higher-level travel overview: Matera.