11 Things You Must Do In Matera

This past September I took my Glam Italia tour to one of the best places I have ever been. Deep in the heart of Italy's south, in the region of Basilicata there lies one of the three oldest and most continuously inhabited cities in the world, Matera.
Matera has been populated since paleolithic times.

You can read more about Matera here

Matera needs to be on your bucket list, and while there you absolutely MUST do these 11 things:

1. Walk

In order to understand this amazing city you need to walk. And walk and walk. Up and down and around the rabbit warren that is the Sassi. 

When you walk the Sassi you will discover that it is an optical illusion - it's actually quite disorienting! Things look far away, but in fact they are quite close, it's just that the Sassi is so vertical

2. Take a tour of the Sassi

You can't come all the way to Matera and not take a guided tour of the Sassi. On the Glam Italia Tours I use Antonio Manicone from Matera Tour Guide. Antonio is the top rated tour guide on Tripadvisor, and with good reason. He is fantastic! I use him for my Glam Tours and I sincerely recommend you use him too.

No guide book can give you the insight into Sassi life that a guide will give you. Antonio's grandparents lived in the Sassi until they were relocated by the government to the apartments on the other side of Matera. His stories about their life in the Sassi and the social fabric of the community brought an entirely different experience to the tour.

Without a tour it would be incredibly difficult to understand the structure of the homes, and the brilliance of the design of the communities.

You can find Antonio here

3. Visit a Rupestrian church

Santa Maria di Idris, Matera

The Rupestrian cave churches of Matera are sensational, both for their design and for the spectacular frescos inside. In a country overflowing with church art, these take you to an entirely different place. The art is largely Byzantine in style even though much of it was painted in the Middle Ages. The frescos in Santa Maria di Idris and in

will take your breath away

4. Stay in a cave hotel

Staying in a cave hotel was such a fabulous experience! We stayed at the beautiful Le Dodici Lune where the ceilings are high, the decor is beautiful and the service is wonderful.

sitting room area inside our cave hotel in Matera

Hotel specialist Alex Polizzi says that you should always know where you are when you wake in a hotel. Most hotels are very much alike and sitting inside that room you could be anywhere. When you wake in a cave hotel in Matera you know exactly where you are. And it's magical.

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5. Eat in a cave restaurant

Le Dodice Lune has a world class restaurant on the property, in yet another giant cave. The visual is fantastic, second only to the food itself. Local cuisine is fresh and flavorful, and really just sensational! 

The staircase down to the wine cellar at Le Dodici Lune in Matera

Pair it with local wines from the Basilicata for the most perfect experience ever

Book a table at Le Dodici Lune

6. Walk through the Sassi at night

The Sassi is spectacular at night. Take time to stroll through the labyrinth streets after sundown. The city shimmers like a jewelry box, and it's beautiful!

In the 17th century a man of the cloth wrote that every evening it was customary for every home to put a candle in the window. With so many doors and windows it would look like a sea of light reflected in the stars above. Dalle sassi alle stelle / from the stones to the stars

7. Cross to the other side

From the Sassi you can walk down the gorge and cross a bridge to the other side. There are caves to explore, an unobstructed view of the Sassi, and incredible views of the countryside.

8. Go to a cave house

The cave house of Vico solitaire in Sasso Caveoso gives you insight into the life of the average family living in the Sassi. This cave home housed a family of 11 and their animals. See how the cave was set up as a home, where the kitchen was, where everyone slept, where the animals lived - it's fascinating!

Train Tickets and Schedules  

9. Visit the crypt of the original sin

This is one of the best things I have ever done.

Outside of Matera in the middle of nowhere, along the wall of the Gravina di Picciano gorge you will find the Crypt Of The Original Sin, a heavily frescoed cave church that was abandoned in the late 9th century, became overgrown with moss, as was used for centuries as a shelter for shepherds. 

Rediscovered in 1963 this cave church holds a fresco cycle that comprise one of the most important examples of early medieval painting in the Mediterranean. The painter is unknown, simply referred to as the flower painter of Matera, but his work is hauntingly beautiful. 



The apses depict saints, and the entire back wall tells the story of Genesis.

If you are someone to whom art speaks, you will understand me when I tell you that when they slowly raised the light on these paintings I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Photography is forbidden, so images have been sourced from Google. I will be writing a separate post about the crypt.

10. Explore the art galleries

Matera is a delectably artsy town, and is full of cafes, restaurants and little art shops and galleries. It has been named the European Capital of Culture for 2019. When planning your trip to Matera factor in an afternoon for aimless strolling and wander into as many local haunts as you can.

11. Visit The Palombaro Lungo

One of the things I found incredibly fascinating from Antonio's tours is the Palombaro Lungo, the largest of the sassi' incredibly clever cisterns dug to capture what rain water the area got. An intricate system of tunnels, caves and water channels captured rain water to be drinking water for the locals. Eels kept the water moving so that it didn't become stagnant and lime kept it safe to drink.

You can walk 17 meters deep into the cistern which was dug by hand into the rock.

Craco ~ An Abandoned City Near Matera

In September I went to one of the most fascinating cities anywhere in the world, Matera. Deep in the heart of the mezzogiorno in the south of Italy, Basilicata's Matera is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. 
It is sensational, awe inspiring and completely compelling.

There is so much to see and do in Matera it becomes impossible to try and fit everything in. One thing we weren't able to do on this trip was visit the ghost town of Craco, which is not far from Matera, in the Gulf of Taranto. I'm going to make sure I get there next time I'm in the deep south, and will be able to write my own story and post my own photos, but in the meantime I wanted to share this blogpost from AncientOrigins.net, written by Bryan Hill.
I've had it in my research folder for ages but it's too good to not share!
Enjoy...

Craco: The Abandoned Medieval Ghost Town of Italy

For nearly fifty years, the town of Craco in southern Italy has stood uninhabited. Here, dark windows look out at potential travelers like empty eye sockets and the streets and buildings of this medieval town seems to have literally been vacated overnight, left to crumble in decay.

Craco was once a monastic center, a feudal town and center of education with a university, castle, church, and plazas. Today, thanks to the dramatic landscape and unique atmosphere, Craco has been the set of many movies including Saving Grace, James Bond Quantum of Solace and the hanging of Judas scene in Mel Gibson’s the Passion of the Christ.

Craco: A Medieval Village with Ties to the Bronze Age

Craco is a former medieval village located in the earthquake-prone Basilicata region of Italy, about 40 km (27 miles) inland from the Gulf of Taranto at the instep of the “boot” of Italy.  The settlement occupies a rock formation above the surrounding hills with its architecture neatly built into the landscape. Perched strategically on top of a 400 meter (1,300 ft) high cliff, overlooking the arid countryside of southern Italy, this ghost town once provided panoramic views and warnings of potential attackers. The city was founded around 540 AD by Greeks who had moved inland from the coast of Basilicata. Back then Craco was called “Montedoro”. Tombs have been found here dating to the 8th century, which suggests that the original settlement dates back to the Iron age.

image via google

The first written account mentioning Craco dates back to 1060 AD, when the land was owned by Archbishop Arnaldo, Bishop of Tricarico. He called the area “GRACHIUM” which means "from the little plowed field." The oldest building of Craco, the Norman Tower, was built in 1040 and many of Craco’s buildings date back to medieval times.

From 1154 to 1168, the control of the village passed to “Eberto”, who established the first feudal control over the town. In 1179, Roberto di Pietrapertos became the ruler of Craco and in 1276 a university was established. It was during this period, that the landmark Castle Tower was built under the direction of Attendolo Sforza, and in 1293 under Federico II, it became a prison.

By the 15th century, four large plazas had developed in the town including the Palazzo Maronna, Palazzo Grossi, Palazzo Carbone and Palazzo Simonetti. 

The Rise and Fall of Craco

The population of Craco grew from 450 in 1277 to 2,590 in 1561, and averaged around 1,500 in succeeding centuries. The construction of the Monastery of St Peter in 1630 helped established a permanent monastic order. In an agricultural community built largely on the production of grain, oil, vegetables, wine and cotton, the monastery helped drive the economy through the introduction of science and religion.

However, in 1656 a plague struck Craco, killing hundreds and reducing the population significantly. Towards the end of the 19th century, the city reached its maximum expansion limits. A severe famine due to poor agricultural conditions caused a mass migration of Craco’s population, about 1,300 inhabitants, to North America between the years 1892 and 1922.

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Since Craco was built on a hill, composed of clay-rich soil of various types of red, green and dark grey clay, with different levels of drainage the terrain was highly unstable.  This caused Craco to be affected by many landslides of natural origin, in 1600, 1805, 1857, and 1933.

Surviving for over a thousand years, the town survived the plagues and its share of thieves and bandits, but finally succumbed to natural disaster when landslides occurred during the 1950s up through the early 1970s.

Despite the precarious living conditions, many of the “Crachesi" (inhabitants of Craco) were still very much attached to their beautiful medieval town and refused to leave. In the 1950’s, the soil conditions of the town deteriorated further, causing more landslides and making the town and the buildings dangerous to live in. Periodic earthquakes were a secondary cause of destruction.

In 1963, the last 1,800 residents were forced to leave Craco for their own safety and were relocated to Craco Peschiera, a new town in the valley below just a few kilometers away. For years, the displaced citizens were forced to live in tent cities and barracks as the government struggled to create housing options for the afflicted.

The Patron Saint of Craco: San Vincenzo

Craco’s medieval churches remain a focal point of the settlement and six religious festivals are held at the city each year between May and October.  There is a small church which houses the religious relics of the mummified body of St. Vincenzo, the martyred patron saint of the town.  San Vincenzo was a soldier in the Legion of Tebea, the army of General Massimiliano in 286 AD who was martyred because he refused to renounce Christianity and worship the Emperor Marco Aurelio. His relic was brought to the town on June 4th, 1792, and moved to the new church after the old town collapsed. Inside the casket is the waxen body of the martyr, dressed as a Roman soldier and lying in a reclining position.

Modern Craco: A Site for Tourism and Festivals

Today, Craco has been abandoned, plundered, overgrown and is no longer accessible to the public, except by guided tour.  While the town has fallen into ruin, several of the buildings, palaces and churches still remain intact with original features like shutters, railings, and frescoes serving as a reminder of the life that once existed within the walls.  Other than that, the village receives visits from travelers and the occasional film production.  Like other ghost towns covering the Italian countryside, Craco is now the focus of conservation efforts. In 2010, it was added to the Watch List by the World Monuments Fund.  As tourism has increased, the local municipality has also secured both EU and regional funding, which brings in concerts, festivals and cultural events as well as funds that help to maintain the site.

Featured Image: Craco, Italy (Wikimedia Commons)

By Bryan Hill

Discovering Matera ~ Into The Sassi

People with an interest in Italian travel generally  have heard of Tuscany and Umbria. But it seems that very few have heard of Basilicata, the dry, mountainous region in the instep of the Italian boot that is bordered by Campania and Calabria on one side, Puglia on the other, and whose southern coastline is on the Ionian sea.

This also means that most people have not heard about one of the most spectacular places I have ever visited, the city of Matera.

The sassi in Matera, waiting for the rain

Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it's history dating back to paleolithic time, roughly 10, 000 years ago. 

Matera is famous for it's ancient cave dwellings which are in the section of the ancient town known as the Sassi. A gorge splits the land wide open and is filled with more than 1500 caves that have been homes since the paleolithic age. In the middle ages many of the larger caves were built out with more traditional house fronts added, during a time when the city thrived.

the gorge rolls down to a flowing river, crossab;e by a rope ans wood bridge.

Matera caves

The more wealthy you were, the higher up the hill your house was, allowing more light to flow in. The poorer you were the lower down the gorge you lived, with the least available light. The lower down the hill the less building there was, until all there were were caves.

looking across the sassi to Santa Maria de Idris church

Consequently most of the exterior building happened higher up the hill.

Matera wasn't built from the ground up, it was quite ingeniously built from the ground down. They literally dug down even sized blocks of stone to create new houses or rooms.

Rupestrian church Santa Maria de Idris

Some of the caves were built into beautiful rupestrian churches, adorned with their byzantine styled frescoes.

Rupestri church, image via Unesco.org

iinside Santa Maria de Idris
image via pangea project

image via sassipoint.it

Photography inside the Rupestrian churches is forbidden, so the fresco images used here are from the web.

Santa Lucia alle Malve

The frescoes in the churches are painted in archaic Byzantine styles that are 200 years behind the style of their contemporaries being painted throughout Italy at the same time ( the1300's), which is a good indication as to how remote and isolated Matera was. But still they are breathtaking. 

the rabbit warren that is the sassi in Matera

The prosperity that Matera knew until the 19th century waned until it eventually became poverty stricken.
In 1935 Mussolini exiled writer and painter Carlo Levi to the Basilicata.  He was tormented by what he saw in Matera, cave homes with 20 plus people and their animals all living in one room, children looking like famine victims with grossly bloated stomachs and skeletal limbs, too disheartened to wipe flies from their eyes. No running water or sewerage, rampant malaria, devastating poverty. 

He wrote the book "Christ Stopped At Eboli" (published in 1945) about what he saw in Matera, a place so cut off from the rest of the country that almost no one in Italy had even heard of it in the 1940's. For most Italians this was the first they heard about Matera and the dreadful conditions the people were living in. The book struck the very soul of Italy, and for decades was part of the school curriculum.

Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year (FSG Classics) 

By the 1950's Matera had become the shame of Italy. The government built new housing in the upper part of the city, outside of the old town, and started moving families out of the caves and into apartments. The government took over ownership of the sassi, and from the 1960's until the beginning of 1990 the sassi essentially was abandoned, apart from squatters here and there. 

in the rabbit warren of the sassi every walkway is someone else's roof

By the early 1990's people started moving back. The government created a program whereby if you committed to rebuilding and renovating the cave homes you could have them rent free for 30 years, followed by a 99 year lease. This has helped Matera turn into a vibrant, arty, fabulous city that has been named European City Of Culture for 2019.

Walking up to Santa Maria de Idris in Matera during the September 2016 Glam Italia Tour

The sassi became re-gentrified, homes and luxurious hotels were built inside the caves, followed by restaurants, bars and shops. A huge portion of the sassi has been kept intact and unchanged for posterity, and is used in movies that need an ancient feel, such as The Passion Of The Christ. 

Matera of the movies - this section of the sassi remains untouched

The rest has become one of the most chic, unique and fabulous places you will ever visit.

The Glam Italia Tour stayed here at Le Dodice Lune hotel deep in the sassi. See the hotel link below.

Matera is a city that will take your breath away. The combination of the rich history, the brilliance of the architecture and the design of the sassi, the abject poverty turned into successful rehabilitation, and the absolutely exquisite beauty of this place works its way into your heart and leaves you aching to go back.

Where to stay in Matera