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.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
This one is famous. If you want what it offers with fewer people, see our alternatives to Matera.
Why Matera is on our list
It holds UNESCO, Città dell'Olio and Città del Pane.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h from Bari
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 59,628
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A18°
- M24°
- J30°
- J34°
- A33°
- S28°
- O23°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 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.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 57 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 3 h 13 min away.
By car from the center of Bari 1 h, Salerno 2 h 30 min or Lecce 2 h 38 min.
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 h 2 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bari airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
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.
From the guides
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.
14 more places the guides name in Matera
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.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
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.
Living here
Could you live here?
Matera is a city.
- A city of 59,628 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 59,628, down 1.3% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,650 to €2,900 per m² to buy, €5.50 to €8.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 96% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Bari airport (BRI), 57 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Potenza, 1 h 23 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from China, Romania and Bangladesh, against 9% across Italy. 66 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United Kingdom. There are 219 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 19% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Matera province ranks 79th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Bari, 53 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 370 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 111 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.14% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Basilicata spends about €1,890 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €459 a year for water, on the Basilicata average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, under 1% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Thermal baths in town: Locanda di San Martino.
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.
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?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bari (BRI), about 57 min 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 h 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.
- Which other towns are like Matera?
- Martina Franca, Ostuni and Conversano.
- How many people live in Matera?
- 59,628 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Matera a good place to live?
- Matera is a city of 59,628 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 96% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 401 m
- Population: 59,628
- 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Matera appears in
- The best olive oil towns that eat well within 90 minutes of BariNear Bariolive oilwithin 90 mineats well6 towns · smallest 19,156 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best towns inside a nature park in BasilicataBasilicatainside a park6 towns · smallest 696 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in BasilicataBasilicataserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 696 residents
- The best olive oil towns in BasilicataBasilicataolive oil7 towns · smallest 836 residents
- The best towns known for what they grow within 75 minutes of BariNear Bariwithin 75 minproduce zone7 towns · smallest 1,275 residents · closest 39 min away
- The 9 best hill towns in the province of MateraMatera provincehill town9 towns · smallest 587 residents
Similar
Towns like Matera
What all six share with Matera: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
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