Location: Matera
Top Things to do in Matera
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What to do and see in Matera, Basilicata: The Best Budget-friendly Things to do
Get to Matera quickly, because it’s still relatively undiscovered by foreign tourists. In town, visit the Domenico Ridola National Museum. Matera’s real claim to fame, though, and the reason it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the extensive series of cave dwellings ("i sassi") southeast of town, first inhabited by Benedictine and Basilian monks. You’ll see individual cells, chapels, and even some churches, many adorned with Byzantine decorations and frescoes.
Restaurants in Matera
1. Museo Laboratorio della Civilta Contadina
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 436 reviews
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.
Reviewed By PaulinaRospondek
Great place to visit. The collection is quite big and it is very interesting. the owner is very nice and he will give more information if you are interested. highly recommended when visiting Matera
2. Sassi di Matera
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 15,727 reviews
Matera, conosciuta come La città dei Sassi, si è sviluppata intorno al suo antico borgo. Nel 1993 è diventata Patrimonio Mondiale dell’UNESCO e sarà Capitale Europea della cultura 2019. Questi riconoscimenti hanno riscattato una città ritenuta vergogna nazionale. Grazie al volere di Togliatti e De Gasperi che hanno voluto lo sfollamento dei Sassi Matera conosciuta come La città dei Sassi si è sviluppata intorno al suo antico borgo. Nel 1993 è diventata Patrimonio Mondiale dell’UNESCO e sarà Capitale Europea della cultura 2019. Questi riconoscimenti hanno riscattato una città ritenuta vergogna nazionale. Grazie al volere di Togliatti e De Gasperi che hanno voluto lo sfollamento dei Sassi, Matera si è ripresa da questo periodo oscuro I Rioni del centro storico Il centro storico è suddiviso in quattro parti: Civita, Sasso Barisano, Sasso Caveoso e Il Piano. Le antiche civiltà che hanno popolato il lato della gravina dove attualmente sorge Matera, si sono insediate sulla Civita.
Reviewed By 422stefanam - Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Sassi di Matera is a beautiful place, you have the impression you step in another world, an ancient one. Impressive churches, history all around, stunning views from each corner, splendid both by day but especially by night. Lots of restaurants to eat, lots of narrow streets where to get lost and enjoy the silence and the charm of the old city. You can admire it also from Gravina, if you pass on the other side of the canyon.
3. MOOM Matera Olive Oil Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 109 reviews
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!
Reviewed By LEnriquesC - Brasilia, Brazil
The Moom, Matera Olive Oil Museum, is located in the Sassi of Matera, in Casalnuovo, and has been realized in an old rock press as proof of the historical features of the cave and its integration in the urban landscape. The building hosting the Moom is assumed to date back to the 15 -16 century. This is a very interesting little museum, and Educational and very worthwhile.
4. Materasum Ipogeo
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 323 reviews
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
Reviewed By supergirlUk - New Malden, United Kingdom
Great visit with very helpful audio guide in Italian but written explanations in English, French and Japanese. Great historical visit explaining the way life used to be in Matera
5. Sasso Barisano
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 138 reviews
Reviewed By Primoitajuba - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Don’t miss the Sassi ! It’s impossible to describe ! An incredible experience in the heart of Basilicata . Small and charmy city with wonderful restaurants, food and wines !
6. Church of Santa Maria de Idris
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 748 reviews
This church is carved into a huge rock pinnacle jutting from the lip of a gorge.
Reviewed By dakkass - Isola d'Ischia, Italy
Carved into the rock at its summit it's the focal point of the town! Very beautiful the view from outside the two churches. Worth the ticket!
7. Cattedrale di Matera
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 891 reviews
Reviewed By LEnriquesC - Brasilia, Brazil
The Chapel of the Annunciation is very precious, with several sculptures, among which a beautiful Pieta in the upper part. It is dedicated to Santa Maria della Brunna, whose Byzantine icon it has. And formerly there was in its place the church of San Eustaquio, patron saint of the city, and the ceiling is full of frescoes with scenes from her life.
8. Parco delle Chiese Rupestri di Matera
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 410 reviews
According to the World Heritage site, "Matera's Sassi are the best surviving and most complete examples of rock-cut settlement in the Mediterranean region. They have been developed in close harmony with the natural environments."
Reviewed By HvPssptWilTrvl - Newton, United States
There can be no reason not to visit this park. We had a rental car but the site can be accessed by tour bus / van, taxi, Uber, etc. This is an "A No. One" attraction and rightly so. Difficult walking even in the best of conditions. Allow 2-4 hours on a nice day to roam around the trails, take scenic pictures of the city, the gorge, the caves and whatever else you fancy. Rain came out of nowhere. If you plan on a half-day or more visit check the forecast. Best time to visit is in the early morning dim of sunrise when the natural lighting is beyond fantastic. Unfortunately, at sunset the city is to the west of the park and is shrouded in a dull gray cast of dinginess until the automated lights come at dusk when Matera's buildings and piazzas glow in gold hues.
9. Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,525 reviews
Matera Sassi Storica Casa Grotta - di vico Solitario: Typically Furnished Cave Dwelling To see what a real peasant dwelling was like before the “Sassi” of Matera were abandoned, visit a typical cave dwelling with furniture and tools of the time in the “Sasso Caveoso”. The description of the Cave Dwelling in English language is available inside. Open all year round.
Reviewed By Sylvain54321 - Lugrin, France
This is a visit of a typical 19th century house of Matera. The house is amazingly well furnished, so that one can learn a huge amount of interesting facts on how the daily life was managed at that time. The immersive effect is very strong, and you realize that each act of ordinary life was difficult in those times. This type of installation is so much better than the usual “tradition museums” in which you see the old clothes and habits !
10. Cripta del Peccato Originale
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,059 reviews
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.
Reviewed By ElenaY54 - Boston, United States
The Crypt of Original Sin is a very unique place . specific to the Matera region of Italy. - Dwellings, churches- all in the carved in caves that have been inhabited since prehistoric times, through Roman times, middle ages - to now. Not to be missed by travelers to Basilicata.
