WHERE TIME AND HISTORY DUG DEEP IN THE ROCK

MATERA THE CITY OF THE FAMOUS "SASSI"

(old town quarters, built into and over caves)

Basilicata is a unique region in Italy, land in which human and natural history have left important traces ever since it has emerged from the sea. In olden times it was known as Lucania, later was called Basilicata. Washed by two seas, the Jonian to the south-east and the Tyrrhenian to the south-west, mountainous in the centre, hilly to the east and with flatlands for a short way to the south-east, Basilicata gives itself over to the traveller, offering him/her the excitement of the discovery of its natural beauty, of its history and prehistory, of its traditions which in some areas conserve the ancestral memories of the origins of man.

Then there is its cuisine, simple and genuine which features all the characteristics of the Mediterranean diet. Basilicata knows how to win people over whether their visit is a due to a question of simple curiosity or to their love of travelling over mountain tops and hills that offer breathtaking and unusual panoramas, or then again to the desire to visit cities packed with history or untouched seaside towns with never ending beaches of fine, golden sand where the Greeks landed in the VIII B.C. Basilicata is a land of strong contrasts and a sense of community harmony.

It jealously safeguards its own identity where all the typical features of the rural have been conserved, and as if to create contrast even post-modern skyscrapers and bridges built to challenge the laws of gravity, like the one at Potenza, can be found.

DURATION

3 Nights / 4 Days

HIGHLIGHTS

Sasso Barisano

Hotel in Pietra

PROGRAM

Day 1: Arrival and check in
Afternoon at leisure.

Evening:
"Tour of Sassi di Matera by night", followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

A tour of the famous "Sassi di Matera" by night is an unique experience. Enjoy the spectacular view of the Sassi Unesco world Heritage site since 1993. This itinerary begins at the Main Square with a breathtaking view over the Rione Sasso Barisano, followed by a walk around the baroque area including the most important church in this style: Romanesque Cathedral. The tour continues through narrow streets and fascinating staircases until you reach the ancient city Gravina di Matera, deep ravine in the rock, rich of many different animal species and very fascinating at night .

Visit ends with dinner in a typical restaurant where it is possible to eat local food.

Day 2: "Craft tour of Matera"
Meet with specialized guide and visit to the Sasso Barisano. First stop at a historic workshop of pottery and ceramics. The group will watch potters working on the wheel throwing objects from the local peasant culture and follow the various phases of creation. Many of the pieces made today gain inspiration from the past, like those inspired by the neolithic ceramics of "Serra d'Alto" or the copies of peasant artefacts or utensils like the flask known as the "cucumo", recipient that was used to keep drinking water cool or the pignata, terra cotta container used to cook traditional materan peasant dishes. Time for shopping.

Visit to a modern laboratory where tufa stone is carved. This soft versatile stone is used not only in the renovation of homes in the Sassi that often contain walls and vaults made entirely of tufa stone but also for furnishings like fireplaces, coffee tables and decorations. Visit to the workshop/showroom of a young-local contemporary artist in the Sasso Caveoso who works with recycled materials and mid-century modern furnitures and objects. She gives new life to broken or discarded objects creating fascinating and original decorations, mosaics, curtains, furniture and other extremely original pieces, all in the huge labyrinth-laboratory that was recently restored and is a wonder of architecture and design in itself. Lunch break.

The visit continues in the Sasso Caveoso with the laboratory of craftsmen that make the characteristic souvenir locally known as "cucù", a typical materan whistle made out of terra cotta and normally in the form of a colourful rooster. It used to be a good luck charm that was given to the future bride and groom on engagement and said to keep evil spirits away. Next stop, workshop where papier-mâché is used to make incredibly intricate, often ironic and original works inspired by the peasant past of Matera. This tradition finds in its inspiration the huge triomphal charriot made for the festa of the patron saint of Matera, la Madonna della Bruna, held on the 2nd of July each year, after which the charriot is completely destroyed. Dinner at a Trattoria with a taste laboratory during which visitors have the chance to watch and participate in the preparation of typical local dishes from the peasant past.

Day 3: "The history of Sassi di Matera"
After breakfast transfer to the look out point of Murgia Timone within the Murgia Materan Nature Reserve and Cave Churches. Visit to the rock-hewn church Madonna delle Tre Porte and nature walking tour. Return to the historic center and visit to Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the nearby churches. Short break at the Cathedral and Piazza Duomo.

Lunch in a typical restaurant.The itinerary continues at Piazzetta Pascoli with a breathtaking view over the Sasso Caveoso and highland plateau of the Murgia and Palazzo Lanfranchi, home to the Museum of Modern and Medieval Art of Basilicata, with the nearby Church of the Carmine.

The tour continues through the heart of the ancient dwellings and nobile homes in the Sassi towards the church of San Pietro Caveoso.Visit to a typical 'cave-dwelling', partly carved out of the rock and partly built, and furnished as it used to be during the peasant civilization.
Next the cave church of Santa Lucia alle Malve or Santa Maria de Idris where some of the most important frescoes and elaborate architecture of this nature can be viewed.

Day 4 : check out

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION

Your hotel is the Hotel in Pietra perched high up in the sassi  a converted 12th-century Benedictine church houses opened in January 2008. The reception-breakfast room occupies the sometime nave, with soaring ceiling and looping tall arches.

A mix of furniture arranged with a pared-down simplicity. Walls are pale exposed stone, a warm gold. Modernist touches marry well with the antiquity, such as large low, wood-edged double beds and thick glass partitions.

All of the 8 rooms are different, imaginative conversions of the unusual spaces the old buildings provide. Most have extraordinary views, too - over the town and across to the cathedral. The peace is palpable: the sassi lanes are too narrow and stepped for vehicles. A remarkable place to stay in a remarkable city.

NOTE

Check availability, prices and conditions and remember: all our packages can be fully personalized. Contact us for more information.

AND FOR THE BRAVE ONES (ONLY IN SUMMER)

Fly like an angel over the Lucanian Dolomites!

The cable flight known as the Flight of the Angel (Volo dell'Angelo) links the two towns of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa.

Suspended from a mile-long steel cable 400 meters above ground and traveling at 120 km an hour...

The 'Volo dell' Angelo' is an extreme sport where adrenalin is combined with unique scenery and natural beauty. This is the first cable railway of its kind in Italy and the infrastructure is the tallest and longest in the world.