Top Matera Art & Culture

Located in a cave deep in the Mugia plateau outside Matera, this captivating rupestrian church known as the “Sistine Chapel of the south” is not easy to reach by car or bus. With this tour, explore one of the most important cultural sites in Basilicata with a convenient transfer and admire its ancient frescoes with the insight of a guide.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, this tour will be carried out with radio transmitter and receiver for each participant, in order to comply with the contact rules. An immersive experience to discover all that makes Matera unique by discovering motherhood and trying to enter, even in the philosophy of life of this strange and unique city. Together with me, Renato, or one of my collaborators such as Sara, Gaetano and Domenico, all licensed guides with a visceral passion and love for the city. The city of Matera, with its ancient neighborhoods, the Sassi, is considered among the oldest in the world. An authentic open-air museum that describes man's life from the Stone Age to the present day with spectacular continuity. Not really touristic tour, step by step you will discover the history of the city, the tales and the vicissitudes of those who lived in the Sassi as well as art, architecture. a 360 ° analysis of Matera "Shame of Italy" and "World Heritage Site".

You will visit Matera with a local tour guide that knows the city and will lead you to discover it as only an inhabitant can do.

The UNESCO-listed Sassi di Matera is both captivating and mysterious. With this guided tour, take a deep dive into the history of this unique rupestrian city, named a 2019 European Capital of Culture. Explore its hidden dwellings and churches carved directly into the cliff, the setting for a number of films, including Ben Hur. Cap off the tour with a tasting of local specialties from Matera.

The tour guide outside the Cathedral and walking tour, through culture, history, tales and legends, where in the bronze age, according the findings, a built up area was born to shape the first city.Secondly we will go to "Sasso Barisano" where we will find how life was spent in the past through old trades, customs, proofs and habits. Then we will cross the old town, coasting the "Civita", enjoying the view of the Park of Materana Murgia on the front side, so that we will head towards the rupestrian complex where you can see rupestrian churches and cave dwellings.

1200 m2 underground, to discover the history of the city of the Sassi and beyond, up to a depth of 12 meters. Time and space are lost in a journey from its origins to today. The history of Matera narrated in one place. A city under the city made of houses, streets. cisterns, production environments and places of worship in a world to be discovered. Live a unique experience walking in a fascinating and mysterious world. Book your visit to the Hypogeum now.

Unique panoramic tour on board the historic Piaggio Ape Calessino, it will give you an indelible memory of the splendid Matera. Customizable for your every need.

The courses will be held in a newly restored fourteenth-century Franciscan monastery in the small town of Irsina between Puglia and Basilicata, a still very little tourist place but with considerable historical and artistic heritage: in Irsina the only known sculpture of the great Renaissance artist Andrea is preserved Mantegna. The course participants are hosted in typical houses of the historic center, interacting with the country and its people, discovering its history, art, culture, environment and food and wine. Breakfast and lunch are included in the price and are held in the bright restaurant of the convent or outside on the terrace of the convent's hanging garden. Excursions are also organized in the vineyards for the grape harvest, in the vegetable gardens, in the olive groves for olive harvesting and in Matera, the city of the Sassi and UNESCO heritage as well as being the European capital of culture in 2019.

Miglionico is located on a hill near Matera between the Bradano and Basento rivers and is famous for the majestic Malconsiglio castle, known for the historic conspiracy of the Barons (1485) against King Ferdinando I of Naples. Flanked by square and circular circular towers, placed at the top of the building. On the upper floor, there are the Malconsiglio hall, where the conspiracy was held, and the Star or Spirits room with a star-shaped ceiling and caskets where the most precious treasures and documents were kept. After the visit of the castle the tour continues towards the mother church of Santa Maria Maggiore which preserves precious works such as the splendid Polyptych (1499) oil on panel of the Venetian master Cima da Conegliano, composed of eighteen panels arranged in four orders, with a central beautiful Virgin on the Throne with Child and St. John the Baptist, the Crucifix by Father Umile Da Petralia Soprana (1629) and the great baroque organ.

Get more out of your visit to Sassi di Matera with a guide to show you the best ways around the area. Along with leading you through the region, your guide will also tell you interesting historical and cultural facts as you go. Plus, see tops attractions such as Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano. 

Private tour with a multilingual tour guide that will lead just you discovering the city and its history.

On this in-depth guided tour of Parca della Murgia, you’ll get an insider’s introduction to the stunning, underground Rupestrian churches that Matera is famous for. Get a peek at 150 rock churches, including fresco-filled San Falcion and 17th-century Madonna delle Tre Porte. Tours include admission fees to the park and a guided excursion.

Castelmezzano, surrounded by a rocky landscape, has preserved the original medieval urban layout with houses built on the rock according to the ancient form of terracing, with the roofs in stone slabs. The walking tour will take you to the discovery of the historical center. It will be discovered how Castelmezzano at the time of the Crusades was an important stop for the knights who went to the Holy Land. Here you will also visit the Mother Church of Santa Maria (called dell'Olmo) made of local stone with inside a wooden statue of the Madonna with Child and a wooden baroque altar. The tour will continue in the village among the palaces built by noble families such as the great ducal palace of De Lerma, the last lords of Castelmezzano. The tour will end with a visit to the ruins of the Norman-Swabian castle and the narrow and very steep Norman staircase, the staircase was dug into the rock to lead the soldiers to a high place to watch over the fortress

The best activity to relax yourself in an unique location carved in the stone and to taste local flavor

Private panoramic tour of the historic districts of the city, aboard the historic Ape Calessino Piaggio. You will not share the tour with other guests.

Matera it's one of the oldest towns in the world, having been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic age. That's roughly 7,000 years !! In the 1950s Matera was a town forgotten by the Italian government. Eventually it was coerced into doing something about the people who lived here in appaling conditions, and built a new town nearby before moving the whole town out of their prehistoric cave dwellings. Alberobello, in the region of Puglia in Southern Italy, is a strange and picturesque destination. The small town has been included in the UNESCO world heritage site. Looking like igloos, constructed out of pure stone, the beehive-shape structures, have origins that dates back to the 15th century and maybe older. The trulli, found nowhere else in the world, are built of local limestone.

We will visit a beautiful UNESCO site like the Sassi of Matera: SASSI represents an extraordinary urban ecosystem able to perpetuate the most distant prehistoric ways of the past to live in caves up to modernity. Known as "the Underground City", Matera is famous for being one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. On October 17, 2014, Matera was declared the European Capital of Culture for 2019.

The itinerary winds along alternative and less touristic routes to discover the most hidden and authentic corners of the historic center. The historical story is accompanied by the social story of the local guide who will involve customers by narrating anecdotes and stories of past life

Thanks to this tour, in one day, it will be possible to visit Bari and Matera, that is some of the most beautiful places in the area.

The Alberobello and Locorotondo tour with transfer from Matera allows you to discover the Itria Valley and above all two splendid cities, Alberobello, known for its famous Trulli, UNESCO Heritage since 1996 and the beautiful Locorotondo

PASSIONS Craftsmanship, Medieval frescoes, Rocky churches, particular traditions of Matera and tasting of local enogastronomy WE WARMLY WELCOME Tourists of all age who speak English, particularly passionate about art, crafts and local traditions. minimum booking available: from 2 people

A tour between Matera and Gravina, two cities with an ancient history and unique views, setting of the last of the famous James Bond saga "No time to die". During the tour an expert local guide will show you the locations of the most spectacular chases and the most reckless action scenes that animated the two cities for two months, during the shooting. In Matera you will see how difficult it was for the stuntmen to drive on the streets among the caves and in Gravina you will walk on the famous bridge which is the first scene in the newest trailer of the movie.

Discover the city of Matera in a journey through the city of the Piano with its Baroque churches, the Rione Civita where the cathedral in Apulian Romanesque style, and the two famous Sassi, Barisano and Caveoso districts, defined for their beauty and history a true cultural landscape.

With our walking tours, you’ll skip the mundane historical tours and discover the city through a local’s eyes. Experience a tour that will transform the way you travel to make it as much about the people you meet, as it is the places you see. Our local guides (Lokafyers) are passionate about their city and eager to share their knowledge and perspective. Since Lokafyers are not professional guides and tour occasionally, they provide an experience that’s authentic and personal, like a friend showing you around their city. By the end of the tour, you'll feel comfortable navigating the city and confident that you have all the information you need to make the most of your stay.