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Basilicata Walking tours

Our most recommended Basilicata Walking tours

From Matera: Sassi di Matera Tour with Entry to Cave Houses

1. From Matera: Sassi di Matera Tour with Entry to Cave Houses

Embark on a day out in Sassi and explore the ancient neighbourhoods with a live guide. See a series of grottoes carved out of limestone and marvel at the Sasso Barisano and the Sasso Caveoso. Your tour will begin at the meeting point in Via Alessandro Volta. From here, your expert guide will lead you to the Church of San Francesco, situated in the historic centre of the city. Next, you’ll continue along a panoramic road comprised of narrow streets and winding alleys. After arriving at the Rupestre Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, you’ll find a pleasant surprise waiting inside: a classic example of the traditional culture of this remarkable city. Afterwards, you’ll move on to visit a typical Matera cave-house before continuing along Via Madonna delle Virtù and Porta Pistoia "Pert P’stèl" to conclude your cultural adventure.

Matera: Sassi di Matera Guided Tour

2. Matera: Sassi di Matera Guided Tour

Meet your guide at Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Matera. From here, your expert guide will introduce you to the districts of Sassi. From the square, head to the heart of the historical center, where you will find the wonderful Apulian-Romanesque Church of San Giovanni Battista. Continue with a visit to Casa Cava, a hypogeum used in ancient times as a quarry, today turned into a convention center, thanks to outstanding restoration work. Stop at Sasso Barisano, to visit the rock church of Sant'Antonio Abate where you’ll find a pleasant surprise waiting inside, a classic example of the traditional culture of this remarkable city.  Move on to Sasso Caveoso to visit a typical Matera cave-house before continuing along Via Madonna delle Virtù and Porta Pistoia. Make a short stop at Piazza San Pietro Caveoso and stroll down one of the main streets of Sassi, Via Bruno Buozzi, to reach the second rock church of Madonna delle Grazie. Continue to the Baroque Church of Purgatorio. Next stop will be Piazza San Francesco d’ Assisi where you will visit the church dedicated to the Saint and from there you will move to Piazza del Sedile, Parliament's headquarters during the domination of the Kingdom of Naples. Finish your tour with a visit to the magnificent Apulian-Romanesque Cathedral, overlooking the highest part of the city.

Matera: Walking Tour with Entry to Cave House and Rock Crypt

3. Matera: Walking Tour with Entry to Cave House and Rock Crypt

A priceless treasure of the verdant Basilicata region, Matera is the area's stone masterpiece and stands in all its beauty on high ground. Declared a UNESCO heritage site in 1993 as a testament to its uniqueness, it preserves structures that are all one-of-a-kind, the famous "Sassi." These are distributed in two areas called "Caveoso" and "Barisano" that offer incredible views of the area but are in themselves of great uniqueness and interest given their thousand-year history and architecture. During this visit you will have the chance to discover a Cave House and a Rock Crypt dug into the rock and on 3 different levels. Passing through the Central Square that offers a beautiful view of the Sassi, you will have a crescendo of wonders and emotions going up to the Civita and the Cathedral that dominates the city from above. The walking tour ends in the heart of the Sasso Caveoso, which with its picturesque caves has many times provided spaces for various film productions such as Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ," or 007's No Time to Die in which James Bond is played by Daniel Craig. An enjoyable guided walking tour conducted at the right cadence to enjoy the best of Matera with a 100% local guide.

Matera: Sassi Tour, History and Culture

4. Matera: Sassi Tour, History and Culture

Accompanied by our guide, you will discover Matera’s most ancient and fascinating area: the Sassi historical neighbourhoods. Along this pleasant walk, which twists and turns in Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano’s alleys and panoramic views, there will be several stops to dig into the depths of Matera’s historical, architectural and cultural background. In particular, it will be possible to visit one of the most representative rock-hewn churches, both for the perfectly recognizable architectural structure, both for the great state of preservation of the medieval mural paintings.

Matera Tour Guidato Centro Storico Sassi e Chiese Rupestri

5. Matera Tour Guidato Centro Storico Sassi e Chiese Rupestri

Historic Center and Sassi TourIt consists of a walking tour from the main square of the historic centre, Piazza Vittorio Veneto (starting point, arch-shaped fountain reference), with a panoramic view of the Sasso Barisano.Continue through the historic center until you reach Piazza Duomo where it will be possible to view the Cathedral from the outside and then enter the Sasso Caveoso. From here there will be a visit to the furnished house of peasant civilization, a frescoed rock church, a visit to the barbaric cemetery and the various neighborhoods.Everything will be explained by an authorized guide, which will allow you to understand the history of the city.The tour will end in Piazza Giovanni Pascoli in the historic center, close to the Sasso Caveoso.

Sassi of Matera: Walking Guided Tour in English, Local Guide

6. Sassi of Matera: Walking Guided Tour in English, Local Guide

Explore the Sassi of Matera with an official, local guide in small groups (max 16 people), to enjoy a top-quality service. Meet your local guide at the meeting point, in the heart of the city and go through a complete itinerary that includes a visit to both Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso. Cross the central square of Matera and discover the first of the many viewpoints you will enjoy during the tour. Your guide will introduce you to the incredible and fascinating history of one of the oldest settlements in the world. Find out how this incredibly ancient city was born in perfect balance with nature: learn about the so-called rock-cut architecture and the water collection system. A perfect example of the symbiosis between man and nature that early made Matera a Unesco World Heritage Site. Through centuries of history, which have left traces that you will be able to discover during the tour, Matera experienced a decline that led it to be defined as the Italian national shame in the 1950s due to the unhealthy living conditions in the Sassi caves. Discover the unpredictable evolution that has led to the city's rebirth in recent years. Walk through ancient narrow streets, discover charming corners, marvel at the breathtaking beauty of the views - keep your camera close at hand! Then you have the chance to visit one of the most beautiful rupestrian churches in Italy: an ancient church carved into the rock, a magical and fascinating place that preserves precious medieval frescoes. If not you can just spend your time enjoying the view of a breathtaking landscape, where the beauty of nature blends with the wise ancient architecture. The last part of the tour takes place in Sasso Caveoso where the close relationship between architecture and rock is revealed in all its wonder.After discovering some of Matera's famous film locations, end the tour in Piazzetta Pascoli, the most famous viewpoint on the Sassi.

Matera: Guided Walking Tour

7. Matera: Guided Walking Tour

You will meet a local tour guide in the main square, Piazza Vittorio Veneto, where you'll begin your walking tour admiring the landscape of the historic center from unique viewpoints. Then the tour will lead you through the historic center, covering topics of Matera history on the way. Matera is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been chosen as the 2019 European Capital of Culture, an important acknowledgment for its history and beauty which has been carved in stone.  Walking among the "Sassi" (the ancient neighborhoods of Sasso Barisano e Sasso Caveoso), you will discover the cave houses and churches carved in the rock, as well as the newly restored Cathedral. From the Cathedral which is built on a high point of the hill, you will enjoy enchanting views over the historic center and of Murgia Materana Park, an area characterized by hills and Mediterranean vegetation.  Over the course of 2 hours, you will be completely immersed in a magical unique land, seeing all of the major sights of Matera.

Matera: 007 "No Time to Die" Film Sites Walking Tour

8. Matera: 007 "No Time to Die" Film Sites Walking Tour

The city of Matera has become an important filming location since the 50’s. Most of the films produced here share different biblical topics due to the fascinating landscapes of the ancient city which are very similar to locations you can find in Holy Land. Though in 2019, another "action" side of Matera was revealed by the new 007 “No Time To Die” film shooting. Step behind the scenes of the greatest spy film of all time while exploring the streets and history of Matera. Explore both the Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano and visit Piazza Vittorio Veneto, Piazza San Giovanni, via Madonna delle Virtù, admiring the view from the Civita area and Piazza Duomo. Enjoy a special cocktail '007' at the end of the guided tour.

Matera: Private Walking Tour

9. Matera: Private Walking Tour

Discover the story of a town which was carved into rocks and was inhabited until the 20th century. You will have the opportunity to visit a cave-house recently opened to the public, and will also have access to ancient rupestrian churches. Matera is a unique place, and makes for a great experience to experience. You will meet the local and expert tourist guide in the city center where the tour will start to discover this UNESCO site. From there, you will walk through the 2 main districts dug into the rocks, an area where you will discover cave-houses and rupestrian churches. During this tour, you can admire the panoramic view over the Murgia Materana Park from the balconies whilst you discover the Matera origins, one of the oldest European cities. Afterwards, you will reach one of the highest points of the Sassi where you will visit the cathedral.

Walking Tour of Matera at Sunset

10. Walking Tour of Matera at Sunset

Begin your journey at Matera’s main square, the Piazza Vittorio Veneto, where you will meet the tour guide who will take you on a walking tour of the city of the "Sassi", a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the European Capital of Culture 2019. From 6 PM explore Matera as the sun sets and the city’s lights flicker on, illuminating the human dwellings that have existed in the Sassi di Matera since the Paleolithic period. Explore the ancient districts of Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso where houses and churches were dug into the rock. Take an optional guided visit of a cave-dwelling before heading to one of the highest points of the city, where you can visit a Rupestrian church and hear more about the history of Matera from your guide. The historic center of Matera also allows you to look out from the many balconies to view the Sassi and the Murgia National Park below.

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What people are saying about Basilicata

Overall rating

4.8 / 5

based on 192 reviews

Annalisa was a fabulous tour guide. Having a tour guide whose own grandparents experienced the Sassi was really eye opening. She was extremely engaging and shared with us so much history about Matera. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who is looking to learn more about this magical city.

The tour was very well organized. Our local guide Lucia was really very amazing, kind and knew all about the place. She guided us among the Sassi explaining lots of things that are unknown if you do not have a local guide. I was very satisfied and I recommend this tour

We walked around Sassi di Matera and the old town as the tour guide explained the history of the area. We were a small group of about 8-10 people and the tour lasted about two hours maybe more.

Responsive guide. Angela had great English and was even great with my energetic young boys. Would highly recommend.

The guide was excellent. Deep knowledge about history.