Basilicata · Matera
Matera
Cave dwellings carved into limestone since the Paleolithic, called the shame of Italy in the 1950s and made European Capital of Culture in 2019.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h from Bari
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 59,685
Known for
THE SASSI
UNESCO-listed since 1993; emptied by law in 1952, called the shame of Italy, reoccupied as boutique hotels and homes from the 1980s onward.
FILM LOCATION
Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ in 2004 and No Time to Die in 2019; the Bond shoot brought twelve million euros into the city.
PANE DI MATERA
IGP wheat bread with a horn shape and seventy-two-hour ferment, baked in wood ovens from semola di grano duro.
LENTICCHIA DI ALTAMURA
The commune lies inside the Lenticchia di Altamura IGP production zone.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A18°
- M24°
- J30°
- J34°
- A33°
- S28°
- O23°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Matera sits on the edge of the Gravina ravine in eastern Basilicata, fifty-five kilometers inland from Bari. The Sassi, two districts of houses, churches and cisterns hollowed from tufa limestone, are among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on earth, with traces of human presence from the Paleolithic. Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano dropped down the canyon walls; people lived there with their animals into the 1950s.
Carlo Levi's 1945 book and the 1948 photographs that followed turned the Sassi into a national scandal, and a 1952 law moved twenty thousand residents to new housing on the plateau above. The caves stayed empty for thirty years. UNESCO listed them in 1993.
Mel Gibson shot The Passion of the Christ here in 2004 and the city was European Capital of Culture in 2019; No Time to Die filmed in the Sassi in 2019, bringing twelve million euros into the local economy. Bread, ceramics, and rock churches across the Gravina anchor what is now Basilicata's only mass-tourism destination.
The Sunday letter
Matera is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Matera comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Matera in our articles
The 6 best towns you can reach by train in the province of Matera6 towns, Matera among them.
The best olive oil towns that eat well within 90 minutes of Bari6 towns, Matera among them.
The best towns inside a nature park in Basilicata6 towns, Matera among them.
The best towns with a serious restaurant in Basilicata6 towns, Matera among them.
How to get there
From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 57 minutes by car.
Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 3h 13m away.
By car from the centre of Bari 1 hour, Salerno 2h 30m or Lecce 2h 38m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bari?
Coming by train into Bari Centrale? Matera is about 1 hour away by road.
What to see
Sassi di Matera
Two districts of cave dwellings, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, carved from tufa limestone and inhabited continuously from the Paleolithic until the 1950s evictions.
Cattedrale della Madonna della Bruna e di Sant'Eustachio
Thirteenth-century Apulian Romanesque cathedral on the highest point of the Civita, between the two Sassi, with rose window and bell tower.
Chiese rupestri del Parco della Murgia
More than 150 rock-cut churches scattered across the Gravina canyon, frescoed between the eighth and thirteenth centuries by Italo-Greek monks.
Casa Grotta nei Sassi
Reconstructed cave dwelling preserved as a museum, showing how families, livestock and grain lived together in a single rock room until the 1952 eviction law.
Gravina di Matera
Limestone canyon below the Sassi, crossed by a footbridge to the rupestrian church park on the opposite cliff.
Castello Tramontano
Aragonese castle commissioned in 1501 by Count Giovan Carlo Tramontano, who was killed by townspeople before it was finished; three of the original twelve towers stand.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Matera fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Dimora UlmoRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100) for Dimora Ulmo, along with a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Vitantonio LombardoRistorante
Vitantonio Lombardo carries one Michelin star, two Gambero Rosso forks (86/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
BaccantiRistorante
Baccanti carries two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
DA MÓRistorante
DA MÓ carries a Gambero Rosso listing, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Aroma Profumi e SaporiRistorante
Aroma Profumi e Sapori carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
L' Abbondanza LucanaRistorante
L' Abbondanza Lucana carries one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100).
Myricae RistoranteRistorante
Myricae Ristorante carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
Oi MarìRistorante
Oi Marì holds one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100).
Osteria San FrancescoRistorante
Osteria San Francesco carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
Regiacorte dell'Hotel Sant'AngeloRistorante
Regiacorte dell'Hotel Sant'Angelo holds two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
Ristorante Artema dell'Hotel Vetera MateraRistorante
Ristorante Artema dell'Hotel Vetera Matera has two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100) to its name.
StanoTrattoria
Stano carries two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Palazzo GattiniHotel
Palazzo Gattini has a Leading Hotels of the World listing and a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Masseria Fontana di ViteHotel
Masseria Fontana di Vite carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Palazzo Del Duca Hotel & RestaurantHotel
Palazzo Del Duca Hotel & Restaurant holds a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Sant'Angelo, MateraHotel
Sant'Angelo, Matera carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Sextantio Le Grotte della CivitaHotel
One Michelin Key, at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita.
Signature dish
Pane di MateraBread
A tall durum-semolina loaf with a hard crust and open crumb, shaped like the Murgia hills and protected by IGP.
See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Festa della Brunapatron saint's feast
usually held in July. MateraLife — Agenda eventi
Living here
- Population 59,685
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 57 min drive
- Regional capital Potenza, 1 h 23 min drive
Thermal baths in town: Locanda di San Martino.
Common questions
- What is Matera known for?
- Cave dwellings carved into limestone since the Paleolithic, called the shame of Italy in the 1950s and made European Capital of Culture in 2019.
- Where is Matera?
- Matera is a comune in the province of Matera, in Basilicata, at 401 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Matera?
- Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 57 minutes by car.
- Can you get to Matera without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Bari to Matera?
- About 1 hour by car.
- When is the best time to visit Matera?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 34 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Matera?
- Yes. Festa della Bruna. July is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Matera?
- Martina Franca, Ostuni and Conversano.
- How many people live in Matera?
- 59,685 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 401 m
- Population: 59,685
- Surface area: 392.09 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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