Matera Discovery Experience

Upon arrival in Matera, make your own way to the hotel and check in (a transfer can be arranged as an optional extra). In the evening, join a small group tour beginning at 17:00 for a brief introduction to the city. We start with a concise historical and architectural overview of the Sassi of Matera, followed by a visit to the Sasso Caveoso district. You will enter a traditionally furnished cave dwelling to see how the city's poorest residents lived until the 1950s. The tour continues to one of the Rupestrian Churches carved entirely from rock, where you will discover rare iconographic traces of Greek-Italian monasticism dating from the 10th to 13th centuries. Finally, we visit ?Il Bottegaccio,? a ceramic and papier-m?ch? workshop, to explore Matera's ancient crafts and local food traditions. Overnight in Matera.

After breakfast, we visit a traditional panetteria to discover the art of making Matera’s famous bread. The experience begins with an introduction to the key ingredients, including local semolina and sourdough. We then enter the bakery workshop where the master baker demonstrates the techniques of kneading, rising, shaping the dough, and applying the distinctive stamp that marks the Bread of Matera. You will have the opportunity to get hands-on, shaping your own loaf to take home once it’s baked. We return to the hotel afterwards for your overnight stay in Matera.

After breakfast, please make your way to the meeting point where your driver will take you to the Crypt of the Original Sin for an audio-guided tour. This remarkable cave, used as a church by Benedictine monks in the 9th century, is entirely covered with frescoes by the artist known as the ‘Flower Painter of Matera’. Rediscovered in 1963 by a group of local enthusiasts, the crypt has transformed from a simple shelter into one of the most important sites of rupestrian art in Southern Italy. Often called the ‘Sistine Chapel’ of rock wall painting, it offers a unique insight into early medieval religious art and theology. You will return to Matera for your overnight stay.

After breakfast, enjoy some free time to take a final stroll through Matera or pick up any last-minute souvenirs. When you’re ready, we provide an optional transfer to the airport or train station to continue your onward journey.