After spending 2 days in Matera, we’re on a mission to make sure more people know of this beautiful place. If you’re yet to visit Matera, you need to jot it down on your travel bucket list. Located in the Basilicata region of Italy, Matera is one of two cities sharing the title of European Capital of Culture in 2019. Dating back to 7000BC, Matera is touted as one of the oldest human settlements in the world. It might be one of the oldest, but it doesn’t take long to appreciate. Two days in Matera is a perfect length for a visit.
As one might expect with a history as long as Matera’s, not all of it is positive. The city descended into chaos in the 1950s. This was an era where Matera became known as the ‘shame of Italy’. This was due to poor sanitary conditions, extreme poverty and a malaria outbreak.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that the town began to focus on tourism. People returned, and the city now celebrates a renaissance befitting a city of its tenure and history. As a visitor, it is near inconceivable to think of the conditions during the bulk of the 20th century. Today, the traveler is met with a romantic rustic air, stunning cave dwellings and sweeping views.
Matera is a city on the rise. Its selection as European Capital of Culture will further cement its rightful place on travel itineraries. It will likely see more people visit Matera than ever before. If that’s you, read on for our tips on making the most of a 2 days in Matera, an intriguingly beautiful city.
Getting to Matera
Given its location in the Basilicata region, you’re unlikely to be passing through here by chance. Your visit here will be a conscious effort.
Fly
The nearest airport is located in Bari in the Puglia region where a bus shuttle service can connect you. The usual airline suspects such as Ryanair and Easyjet fly here.
Train
Train services from Bari exist, serviced by regional trains. It can be challenging and time consuming to get here. It may require multiple stops depending on what time of day you leave. This also presumes you’re in Bari in the first place.
If you decide to book a train, we use Omio to book our trains in Italy.
Drive
This was our choice, tacking 2 days in Matera off the back of a week around Puglia – read about that trip here. As much as the other options provide choice, we didn’t seriously consider any other option other than car hire. Car hire is very reasonable in Italy. It also affords additional flexibility to visit places off the beaten track. Just like Matera.
For more tips on driving in Italy, check out our guide to driving in Italy.
For pure convenience, Matera is best reached by car. If you have no desire to drive when you visit Matera, I’d recommend flying into Bari and jumping on the bus shuttle service.
Where to stay in Matera
We stayed at the well located, Le Origini hotel. The rooms here are surprisingly spacious for the location and we were incredibly blessed during our 2 days in Matera to have a full view of the sassi. It was the perfect place that had us glued to our window where we arrived, before we went to bed and when we got up!
The lovely owners Saverio and Francesca will give you a full run down of everything you need to do and see in Matera. They’ve a host of recommendations too. Book early in peak periods, as they’ve only a handful of rooms.
Is 2 days in Matera enough time?
Matera is the type of place you could drop in for a few hours or spend a few days at taking it in at la dolce vita pace. We spent 2 days in Matera (just the one night) here in the summer. We felt we got a good take on the city, but could have extended the visit if time allowed. Matera is likely to become a popular long weekend destination its status as a 2019 European Capital of Culture.
Building Matera into an itinerary with Puglia made the most sense for us. It allowed us the ability to take advantage of this region to the fullest.
Things to do in Matera
Explore the Sassi
You’ll hear the term sassi thrown around when you visit, which loosely translates to city. Many compare the sassi to Jerusalem which aligns with its acknowledgement as one of the oldest human settlements. It’s aesthetic similarity is so strong, Matera even played Jerusalem in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
The sassi is broken into two areas known as the Sasso Brisano and the Sassi Caveoso. The Sassi Brisano is the biggest district and where you’ll find most of the shops, hotels and restaurants. The Sassi Caveoso as its name might suggest is where you’ll find the preserved cave homes and churches. Both areas deserve a visit and offer different perspectives on the city.
The best way to take in the sassi is to walk. You can navigate your way through the Barisano taking in the various churches, restaurants and the piazzas of San Francesco and Veneto. If you’re visiting in the summer, take respite in the shade with a gelato!
The sassi is small enough for you to explore on your own, but if you’d like some direction and some further history, a walking tour can be the best way to get a quick induction.
BOOK ONLINE: Sassi Walking Tour || 2 hours || From €10
Check out the cave homes and churches
To see what it was like to live here many thousands of years ago, you really need to step inside and visit. The Storica Casa Grotta di vico Solitario is a typical furnished cave peasant dwelling which gives you insight into what Matera was like to live in before it was abandoned. You’ll not only see the cave home, but also furniture and tools from that era.
You enter the cave dwelling and they start to play an audio in English, describing the conditions of the cave. It was all very dire. There was only one double bed, high off the ground. This provided circulation to the bed in the heat, but moreso to keep other things, like chickens. There was one cradle at the end of the bed which they said would have one baby at a time, and they would rotate. Even though infant mortality rates were around 50%, most families still had a lot of children. One cave dwelling even had a stable! To envisage such a beautiful city in this way is difficult to fathom.
The church of Santa Maria de Idris is built into the rock and contains many impressive frescoes. There is no doubt these frescoes, containing images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Saint Peter and Archangel Michael amongst others, has seen better days. That is all forgiven when you realise many of these were painted somewhere between the 11th and 13th centuries respectively. You get a very real sense of what it must have been like to visit here in that era. To see these immortalised as they are amongst the cave walls is sight to behold. Cost to enter as at 2018 is 3 euros and photography limited given the fragility of the frescoes.
Walk around the city
Walking around Matera will show you it’s every face. The location of the sun will also reveal Matera in a varying light. Shadowy buildings turn into a pristine white and then into a warm, yellow glow. Take your time, and enjoy it from every angle.
Try some of the local cuisine
This is Italy, but the food is a different take yet again. You’ll find much of the city has traditional Italian influences. You’ll also find flavours from around the European region. Dishes here tend to be hearty, rural type affairs. You’ll of course find pasta, where orecchiette is the most well-known local type.
A must have whilst here is the famed ‘Matera sausage’. This sausage is packed with hearty pieces of pork mixed with salt, pepper, fennel and the real game changer, pepperoncino. It is flavoursome, and a little different to what you’ll find in other parts of Italy.
Get across the valley
You’ve eaten. You’ve walked the city. But now you need to admire the city from afar. Across the gorge, you’ll see a view point and some goat tracks. Whilst you can walk here, a car is a easier option to take in this excellent view of Matera. It’s not well signposted, but look for ‘Belvedere di Murgia Timone’ and Google Maps should get you here.
The sweeping vista is hard to pull away from, and provides an all encompassing view of Matera.
We hope you get a chance to visit Matera. We’d love to know what you thought if you’ve made it to this beautiful city. Let us know below!
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The architecture here looks stunning and I’d like to come to try out their yummy cuisine ( :
A beautiful city and beautiful food – you can’t go wrong 🙂
Beautiful!
Thanks! It’s a wonderful place! Have you visited Matera before?
not yet, but it’s on my list 😉 keen to go there this winter 🙂
This place is incredible and definitely on my Italian bucket list:)
Such an awesome place. And if the new James Bond ever gets released, I understand some of it was shot there too!