Nina's Travels
- Apr 19, 2018
- 4 min read

MATERA, ITALY

Updated: Aug 26, 2018

Hi you,

I am going to introduce you to a city you might have never heard about : Matera. And let me tell you its beauty is beyond words can say. Its charm, authenticity and history are the main reasons why I felt SO impressed when I first stepped foot in.

Piazza Pascoli's belvedere

The story begins this way : I was once looking for interior design's inspiration on Pinterest when I saw a room that was beyond beautiful. I started getting so curious and really tried to find out who could own such a gorgeous and original place.

I discovered this was a room from a small hotel in a town called Matera in the Basilicata region, southern Italy.

I called my boyfriend telling him : "let's book this hotel room and flight tickets, I want to see this in real life". 30 minutes later we were all done.

The hotel was La Dimora di Metello that I naturally recommend.

The much vaunted bedroom built in a cave

The owner is so nice, she will help you into all the activities you aim to do, advice you about places to visit and restaurants to eat at, she is super patient and she speaks English.

The breakfast is simple but very good, fresh and homemade.

The view from our terrace

We went there for 4 days in February so the weather wasn't so nice, not only it was chilly (more or less 5-8C) but also often cloudy and sometimes rainy. On top of that, the night was coming quite early which is reducing a lot the time you might need in order to visit properly. Conclusion : I'd definitely encourage you to go around April-May or September-October (because it must be too hot and too touristic in summer).

We landed in Bari (closest airport to Matera) in beginning afternoon and decided to spend the rest of the day strolling around in the city before heading to our hotel in Matera, as we had been told the old center is so pretty. Indeed, visiting Bari is soooo worthy, I wish we had one or two full days there. All the little streets of the old town are so charming and seducing, I love those cities where you really feel the italian authenticity floating in the air #youknowwhatimean right ?

Old Town, Bari

Via Lungomare Imperatore Augusto

So, as said before, we came in Matera quite spontaneously without really knowing anything about this city.

I had not seen any picture of the city, neither read any description of it so I didn't expect anything.

We jumped off of the train, walked 10 minutes and entered Matera's heart. We both stopped completely astonished about what was there, happening in front of our eyes. Matera gives the immediate impression it stands out of time, blocked in thousand of centuries ago, straight out from an historical fresco, but godammit, it exists, today, in 2018.

Little cultural interlude : Matera is as old as Jericho and belongs to the Unesco World Heritage.

Matera is divided in two "parts" that are called Sassi :

Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano which are both worthy being visited.

Rupe Dell Idris

I have nothing to tell you but just go and walk around as much as you can. Your eyes will never get fed up of those unreal visions, believe me.

Some activities you can do there : doing a day tour that you can book in the agency Sassi Tourism that sells frequent guided tour in English, visiting the Museo Nazionale Ridola, San Pietro Caveoso Church, Palazzo Lanfranchi on the gorgeous Piazzetta Giovanni Pascoli, Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario as well as Casa Grotta del Barisano (which are both ancient houses) and the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna della Regione Basilicata.

View from Via D'Addozio

Piazza Giovanni Pascoli

Via San Pietro Caveoso

Piazza del Sedile

Via Madonna Delle Virtu

Last thing you need to see is definitely Alberobello. You've probably ever seen pictures of those Trulli with their conical roofs that are absolutely unique in the world. The easiest way to reach this town (if you haven't rented a car) from Matera is to take a cab that costs approximatively 40 to 50 euros (because it is a bit a far, more or less an hour, 69 km).

Once you've arrived you have nothing else to do than just wandering around, simply following where the path leads you to.