Top 9 Hidden Gems Things to do in Matera, Basilicata

A restored XVI century building with court located in via San Giovanni Vecchio 60 (Sasso Barisano) is the home of the 500 m2 large Museo Laboratorio della Civiltà Contadina (Museum-Workshop of the Peasant Culture). The exhibition rooms are dedicated to the ancient trades related to the work in the fields but also to all the other handicraft activities carried on in the ancient quarters of Matera: sieve-maker, tanner, shepherd, basket-maker, cavamonti, shoe-shiner, barber, cabinet-maker, mastro d'ascia, blacksmith, tailor, conciapiatti, potter, knife-grinder, saddler, coppersmith, cobbler, peasant, scalpellino. Also, various every-day tools are exposed: farm tools, equipment for storage and processing of wheat, weaving equipment. Other rooms are dedicated to daily-life places - such as the public wine cellar and the typical house - and themes related to the South-Italy history such as brigandage, childhood condition and water-harvesting. The Museo-Laboratorio aims to be a dynamic structure among the tourism products of Matera and a reference for the development of the culture of the past through exhibition and educational activities.

Matera Tour Guide, with Antonio Manicone and Eleonora Sansone (local guides), provides tourist consulting and high professional tourist services, especially guided tours. Our proposals for customised tours and cultural routes are addressed also to groups and schools.

Hello, I'm Renato Favilli a licensed tour guide. Materavventura well as offering classic tourist paths, want to live the experience of visiting through unconventional paths coming to discover the most unexplored; crossings of streams, walks in the nature and history of the area, not forgetting the traditions and folklore. Discovery and fun guaranteed.

They say that those who are riding does not have feet on the ground and from the saddle, can be seen more easily a better world. Our world is made of nature, genuine and simple joy. A few kilometers from the city of stones, Unesco World Heritage Site, WWF oasis of San Giuliano, wetland of international importance for aquatic fauna, and the Parco della Murgia Matera, one of the most spectacular rocky landscapes of Italy, the 'El (s) dorado Ranch was founded with the intent to create a happy haven to live carelessly her love for horses and make new interesting friends.

Live a fun activity steeped in culture and customs, in a real-family environment! Learn the secrets of the authentic Italian cuisine through our private hands-on cooking classes in Matera. Mary will welcome you and your friends in her private kitchen where you'll cook traditional dishes that you can easily reproduce at home and enjoy the masterpiece you've just learned to prepare! During the session you will make 4 tasty recipes – which depend on the day and season (homemade pasta – ravioli, tagliatelle, cavatelli – fresh tomato sauces, eggplant parmigiana, tiramisu, panna cotta, etc.), all with fresh organic ingredients. Once everything is cooked, you’ll sit around my kitchen table and enjoy your meal paired with a good wine. According to the most typical Italian tradition, an espresso will conclude this adventure. At the end of the day you’ll receive your Italian cooking Diploma and a gift to remember this special experience. As part of our club, you’ll keep receiving our newsletter and updates on recipes, menus, tips and secrets of the Italian cuisine, and may count on our support if you need help in recreating our recipes. Classes are in English and hands-on – you will not just watch, you will take an active role in making your own meal. Small groups of min 2, max 6 people (but we can arrange larger groups if needed). Morning classes starting around 10:00 a.m. (evening sessions can be arranged upon request). Recommended to everybody: kids will love to make homemade pasta and pizza! We can arrange special classes and menus for vegetarians and people with food intolerances. Lessons are in English, but if you know – or are learning – our language and want a fun way to practice it, our classes can also be held in Italian.

Discover Matera by a quad bike (atv)! Enjoy a very amazing experience you will be captured by the ancient quarters of Matera in a really breathtaking natural setting. Life is too short to brive a boring car!!

Matera Olive Oil Museum(MOOM). Reconstructed in an ancient underground oil mill in Sassi of Matera. RESERVATION IS NEEDED! PLEASE CALL US TO ASK A VISIT!

Matera Sum ipogeo is a place where space and time stop to tell you the history. traditions and culture mix of one of the most ancient cities in the world. pure emotion from the depths of the earth

The Crypt of the Original Sin, in Matera, is located inside a natural cave on the Murgia plateau, near the old Appian Way. Commonly known as “the Sistine Chapel of rupestrian art”, the Crypt was discovered in 1963 by a group of local youths, who noticed the splendid frescoes in what at the time, had become a shelter for sheep herds.Experts later dated the cycle of paintings back to the second half of the 8th century, with Late-Romanesque style and formal elements of Oriental inspiration, such as the Byzantine-style Triarchsand the profile of the Virgin Mary, majestically represented in the sumptuous clothes of the Byzantine empress, the Basilissa.The anonymous, humble artist – who was soon nicknamed the “Flower Painter” – depicted biblical figures in total freedom: God the Creator, Light and Darkness, Adam and Eve, the three Apostles John, Peter and Andrew, the Archangels and Mary. The paintings on the rough walls of the cave are different and unique in Matera’s iconographic context. The scenes are the fruit of the painter’s personal creativity and certainly speak of his freedom in translating complex depictions, and of a lively spontaneity in drawing images. The Crypt of Original Sin may only be visited by booking.