A day in the Sassi
Cave houses, rock churches and the view over the ravine
About 1h15-1h30 each way, 6 km on foot
- 08:00
Bari to Matera
Bari Centrale → Matera
Direct buses from Bari Centrale take about 1h15; the FAL narrow-gauge train (separate station, Bari Centrale FAL) takes about 1h30 via Altamura. Either way you are in the Sassi before 10:00.
In high season book the return bus seat in the morning, before you start walking.
- 10:00
The Sassi: Caveoso and Barisano
Sasso Caveoso / Sasso Barisano, Matera
Two districts of houses carved straight into the tufa, one above the other: rock churches with frescoes, stairways, cisterns and terraces. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993 and one of the oldest inhabited places in Italy.
Wear real shoes: the stone steps are steep and slippery, and the walk is all up and down.
- 11:30
Casa Grotta nei Sassi
Vico Solitario, Sasso Caveoso
A cave house museum kept exactly as it was: one room with the bed, the kitchen corner, the animals at the back and the cistern below the floor. It explains in ten minutes how families lived here until the 1950s.
Small entry fee, cash is easier. Combine it with one of the rock churches nearby.
- 13:00
Lunch in a cave
Sassi, Matera
Pane di Matera IGP, peperone crusco, orecchiette with turnip tops or a plate of lamb, eaten at a table cut into the rock. The cave restaurants are the reason to stop here for lunch rather than grab a sandwich.
Book a table: the best cave rooms have few seats and fill up at lunchtime.
- 15:30
Belvedere over the Gravina
Murgia Timone, across the ravine
Cross the ravine to the belvedere on the opposite side for the classic view: the two Sassi stacked on the cliff above the gorge. On the way back, the Palombaro Lungo, the huge underground cistern under Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
The belvedere is 20-25 minutes on foot from the Sassi; a local bus covers most of it.
- 17:30
Back to Bari
Matera → Bari Centrale
Bus back to Bari in about 1h15, or the FAL train via Altamura in about 1h30. You are on the Bari seafront for dinner.
The last direct buses leave between 18:00 and 20:00: check the timetable at the station in the morning.