Top Matera Seasonal & Special Occasions

1 - Large historical location of 300sqm of typical houses of the Sassi di Matera 2 - Over 300 types of selected local products 3 - Experience unique flavors among the rocks of the Sassi di Matera

Matera is home to the Sassi cave churches and dwellings that make up one of the oldest cities in the world. Join your guide for an in-depth tour of the Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano districts to learn about their unique history and evolution. Discover rupestrian structures, stroll the steep and narrow lanes, and gain a deeper understanding of how this town, once called the “Shame of Italy”, is now a UNESCO-listed treasure.

Unveil the secrets of the ancient “cave city” of Matera with this in-depth walking tour through the UNESCO-listed Sassi. Delve into the history of this unique city dug into the cliffside and visit a cave house and rupestrian churches in its two oldest districts. Learn about how residents once lived, marvel at the cathedral set at the town’s upper square, and take in sweeping views over the Murgia Materana Park.

The UNESCO-listed Sassi di Matera is both captivating and mysterious. With this guided tour, take a deep dive into the history of this unique rupestrian city, named a 2019 European Capital of Culture. Explore its hidden dwellings and churches carved directly into the cliff, the setting for a number of films, including Ben Hur.

The UNESCO World Heritage-listed rock city of Matera stretches over a steep cliff, so exploring it on foot can be tiring. Explore as much as possible without getting tired with this tour aboard an authentic Italian Ape Calessino (Tuk Tuk). Zip through the streets of the historic Sasso Caveoso neighborhood to admire the main churches and squares and snap photos of the famous cave houses and views of the surrounding valley.

Cover more ground and explore the UNESCO-listed Sassi di Matera cave churches and dwellings in less than an hour with this Ape Calessino tour. Buzz through the steep, narrow lanes to see highlights in the Barisano and Caveoso districts plus Civita, the town's historic center. Learn about the history of this unique cliffside town from your driver and guide and pause to admire the top sights and snap photos.

Private panoramic tour of the historic districts of the city, aboard the historic Ape Calessino Piaggio. You will not share the tour with other guests.

Discover the historical "Sassi" neighbourhoods with a high profile guide. Our guides are all very fluent in English. Starting from the upper part of the city centre, you will get to know the most alive part of the town, where the locals live. Moving towards the Sassi area, you will have the chance to better understand how this complex city developed over the centuries. Passing first by the Sasso Barisano which we will admire from a panoramic terrace, the tour keeps going on through the internal alleys of the Sasso Caveoso with several stops to dig into the depths of Matera’s historical, architectural and cultural background. Our choice on what to include in the tour has been made, taking into careful consideration which sites are most worthy of the presence of a guide. We decided to include a rock-hewn church: Santa Lucia alle Malve. At the end of the tour the guide will share with you infos on which other places it’s worth of visiting on your own.

Discover the historic Vulture wine country outside the historic town of Matera that most tourists miss with this exclusive private wine tour. Explore the surrounding hills with a sommelier, stopping at two boutique cellars to visit the vineyards and aging rooms. Sample IGT and DOC red, white, and rosé wines and learn about the winemaking culture and history of this little-known corner of southern Italy.

Learn to make authentic pasta the old farmer way, right in a Sassi cellar carved from ancient stone. Using the freshest local ingredients, you’ll prepare bruschetta, cialledda salad, and traditional pasta with guidance from a professional chef. Once the cooking is done, sit down to savor your creations in this extraordinary and historic setting.

Location: A private olive estate just 50 minutes from Matera city center (shuttle service available on request). • Perfect For: Foodies, couples seeking romance, and families looking for a hands-on cultural escape. • What to Bring: A healthy appetite and your camera—the golden hour light through the olive trees is a photographer’s dream!

This cooking class captures the true essence of Matera — a blend of ancient traditions, warm hospitality, and simple, genuine flavors. In a kitchen carved into the city’s iconic stone dwellings, you’ll prepare time-honored recipes passed down through generations, using fresh ingredients from the local countryside. Each dish tells a story of resilience and community, seasoned with olive oil, laughter, and southern sunshine. It’s more than a class — it’s a journey into the heart of Lucanian culture, one bite at a time!

Matera has a lot going for it – it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, European Capital of Culture 2019 and a cave city dating back over 5,000 years. Tour its historic centre and ancient cave dwellings, try local Basilicata food and wine, then choose to visit the cave house museum or a rupestrian church. Considered one of the most outstanding and intact troglodyte settlements, Matera's ancient cave dwellings, or ‘sassi', are the city's big draw. Beginning in the historic centre, we'll check out the baroque quarter, known as ‘Il Piano', where churches and palaces are built on top of the caves. Venture into the neighbourhoods of ‘Sasso Barisano' and ‘Sasso Caveoso' to see ancient ‘sassi' carved into the Gravina canyon and you'll pause for thought in the old quarter of ‘Civita'. You'll also get to try typical food and wine at Panecotto Restaurant, before choosing between an optional visit to the cave house museum or a rupestrian church, cut into the rock.

We will start with a small breakfast under the patriarch olive tree, in an old countryside. Later we will go through the caverns of an ancient farmhouse. Under the centuries-old olive trees we will taste Matera bread and prepare a traditional dish from Matera, "la cialledda", which tells of the encounter between the typical bread of Matera, now stale, and the vegetables and mixed salads of the Lucanian land. All this will take place in a laboratory, at the end of which we will share this meal as even today the olive pickers do in their breaks. The cialledda will be accompanied by Primitivo wine and from the bundle containing Lucanian Slow Food Presidium products: Caciocavallo Podolico, Baked olives from Ferrandina and Pezzente salami from the Matera mountains. We will also be cheered by the sounds of popular instruments and the songs of the Matera tradition.

Live a truly unique multisensory experience. Walk through an impressive underground maze inspired by Greek mythology, discover the production of bread, oil and wine, and conclude with a pleasant tasting of local products.