Mysterious Matera: A City of Caves

You like caves? Matera is the city for you. Visit a museum? There’s one in a cave. Stop for a quick aperitivo? There’s a cave for that. If you’re spending the night, then – unsurprisingly – you can even sleep in a cave. Located on a rocky outcrop, Matera is one of the oldest cities in the world and is a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s actually in Basilicata rather than in Puglia, but I’d definitely recommend as a stop on any Puglia road trip. We spent a day in Matera, the city of caves.

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Matera: A City of Caves

The history of Matera is astounding, after all, there’s evidence that neolithic people settled in Matera as early as 7000 BC. The ancient neighbourhoods of Matera are known as i sassi – “the stones”. This is where you’ll find the limestone grottoes and cave houses, teetering on the edge of the ravine below. There are two sassi; Sasso Caveoso is situated on the mountainside and is full of abandoned caves, whilst Sasso Barisano is the livelier bowl-shaped neighbourhood within the old town.

You can even visit a tradition cave house, open to the public for a small admission fee and laid out in an authentic style. Casa Noha is a great place to start a visit to Matera and to really gain an insight into the history of the city and its people through a multimedia exhibit. Sadly we didn’t get the opportunity to visit – see the final section of this post to find out why!

It’s no wonder that the city had a starring role in “No Time To Die”, the most recent James Bond movie. Which may be one of the reasons why the tourists have started to flock to the city. Originally Matera was going to be something of a drive-by destination on our way to or from Bari Airport, but when I started to plan the trip it became clear that Matera deserved a day on it’s own to explore the city in a more leisurely manner. And it was one of the coolest places we visited. Not in temperature. Boy, was it hot.

Our Matera Story

We stumble across a military presentation in the bustling square of Piazza Vittorio Veneto. There’s a marching band, which immediately takes me back to our day in Haugesund – we can’t go anywhere these days without accidentally joining a procession. From here, we get our first glimpse of those classic densely packed Matera buildings from the Luigi Guerricchio – “Tre Archi” – viewpoint. We duck to pass through a low archway, and find ourselves in Sasso Barisano. The only way is down.

We wind our way through a complex labyrinth of caves, steep stairways and narrow paths, dwellings hewn out of the limestone rock. The roof of one building forms the foundations of the next. Patches of grass mask a secret – the people living in caves literally buried their dead on the rooftops.

Fascinating Matera fact: In the 1950s, Matera was known as the “Shame of Italy” . The city was overpopulated and impoverished. Living conditions were horrendous. Disease was rife and infant mortality was high. Eventually inhabitants moved out of the Sassi, and the buildings lay abandoned. It was thirty years later that people started to return and Matera became a site of archaeological and historical interest. To come from this to the 2019 European Capital of Culture is quite the turnaround.

After lots of steps, lots of narrow alleyways – and yes, lots of dead ends – we emerge from the Sassi maze at the Convento di Sant’Agostino. There’s a wonderful lookout point, with the bell tower of La Cattedrale di Maria Santissima della Bruna e Sant’Eustachio piercing the sky. It’s here that you can really appreciate the vastness of the city.

From here we head down to Via Madonna delle Virtu, a wide walkway separating Matera from the limestone ravine of Gravina di Matera. If you’re here at the hottest part of the day – which foolishly we were – then there is little shade here. Simple caves dot the rockface of Parco della Murgina Materana, a little glimpse of Matera’s past. You can even hike into the ravine to explore the cave dwellings and rock churches. This is another good reason to stay overnight; descending into the ravine early morning means avoiding the beating afternoon sun.

We’re starting to flag a little. Matera is exhausting. We head towards Piazza San Pietro Caveoso, where Chiesa de Madonna de Idris tumbles over the rockface, seemingly clinging precariously to the limestone cliff. From here we can look across the entire bowl of Sasso Barisano. We try and trace the path we’ve taken to get here. And how we get back to our start point.

Getting to and around Matera

Matera is about an hour’s drive from Bari and from the Valle D’Itria. We visited for the day during our stay in Alberobello. I had meticulously researched where to park. It turns out that Parcheggio Stazione Centrale/Tribunale is currently a construction site. We ended up parking a little further out of town on via Guiseppe Saragat. We used the EasyPark App, making a note of the number of our parking bay.

The ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limito) restricts drivers from entering the centro storico. Not as though you’d want to navigate through those narrow streets anyway. There’s on street parking on the outskirts – you can park in the blue stalls paying around €1 per hour (depending on the zones) between 8:00 and 20:00 (in the remaining hours parking is free). Spaces denoted by white lines are generally free of charge, but always look out for any restrictions on signposts. Google Translate comes in handy here!

There’s a bus that travels between Bari Karol Wojtyla Airport and Matera; this takes an hour 15 minutes and costs €4. This makes it easy to stay overnight in Matera at the start or the end of your Puglia trip. You can find bus timetables and costs here. There are also hourly trains from Bari Centrale to Matera Centrale; these depart hourly and cost €5,70.

If you’re staying in Bari then it’s easy to book a guided tour to Matera. Take a look at this one through Get Your Guide which includes food tasting too!

Matera is built on rolling hillsides and there are countless steps down into the depths of the sassi. Not to mention steep ascents to some of the most beautiful viewpoints. Sadly, this means that Matera is not a particularly accessible city. Comfortable shoes are a must. If walking around the city gets a bit much you can always take a guided tour in a three-wheeled “ape-car”.

Matera: why you should visit the City of Caves

The secret is out. Matera is an absolute gem, with magnificent sights and a unique history. cuisine. It’s an excellent addition to your Puglia itinerary! Every little alleyway seemed to lead to an incredible view. And it’s even more beautiful than the films, TV and photos portray

In all honesty, in Matera I felt the hospitality was a little hit and miss. We tried to purchase tickets to enter Casa Grotta Narrante but were ignored by staff in favour of a tour group. And when trying to find somewhere for a drink, we were told abruptly that we couldn’t sit unless we were eating. Their loss, as we then decided to have a late lunch after all at the bar opposite who were more than happy to accommodate us. Dining or not.

At times, Matera was frustrating. Tour groups completely blocked narrow streets and stairwells. We abandoned plans to visit the famous rock church of Santa Maria di Idris because of the crowds. We arrived slightly later in Matera than planned – you really do need to visit as early in the morning as possible to get the best out of your visit. I would definitely recommend staying overnight, to get the city almost to yourself at dusk and dawn.

It’s time to plan your visit to Matera!