Guided Tour of Matera Sassi
- 2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 5 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Discovering Matera, the city of the Sassi which has the title of European Capital of Culture for 2019 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ancient stony districts are characterized by houses carved into the limestone rock and rock churches that make it unique in the world. This natural conformation, which evokes biblical scenarios, has always made them ideal sets for important films, most recently the film by Ben Hur.
Inclusions
What's included
- Local tour guide
- 10% Discount Coupon at MòVado Food & Drink
- Entrance fees to a cave house
- Entrance fees to a Rupestrian Church
What's not
- Transportation
- Food tasting
Itinerary
Meet your guide at our agency
Church of Purgatory
The first stop of the tour takes visitors to Via San Francesco, in front of the majestic church of the same name. This moment allows for admiring the architecture and understanding the role that churches have played in the history and daily life of the Sassi.
Sassi of Matera
One of the highlights of the tour is the visit to the Rupestrian Church of Sant’Antonio, an ancient place of worship carved into the rock. Here, the guide provides detailed information about the history and religious importance of this unique structure.
Participants have the opportunity to explore a typical cave house, once inhabited by the residents of the Sassi. This experience offers an authentic glimpse into daily life in the past and helps to better understand the architecture and lifestyle of the Sassi.
During the tour, a brief stop is planned to deepen the knowledge of the Church of San Pietro, another important historical site of the Sassi di Matera.
The tour concludes with a stop at the picturesque Piazzetta Pascoli, which offers a spectacular view of the Sassi di Matera.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.7
- 51,314
- 4143
- 338
- 221
- 131
Ratings come from 1,547 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Worth 5 stars
Lorenza was a great guide and made the tour well worth it
5Good value with a very clear and well informed guide
Great way to see matera and to learn about its history. Our guide Davida was excellent
5Terrific tour of fascinating Matera
We had a wonderful tour led by the energetic Angela, who led us up down and across a wide swath of the Sassi and a snippet of the upper (new) town. Angela’s English as well as her command of the history of Matera was outstanding. I highly recommend this experience.
5Matera walking tour
David our tour guide was excellent. Funny, informative and engaged.
5Maria Teresa was an...
Maria Teresa was an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable, excellent English, passionate, with great pace and enunciation. We learned a lot on this tour.
1Worst guided tour of the last decade
Guide was disinterested in her own tour, reacted badly to questions, ridiculed clients for their English level and made fun of specific nations. As her English was bad and she didn't finish most sentences, it was almost impossible to follow. Context or historical content was minimal, I didn't learn much about Matera and feel that I have wasted my money.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Please enter the Martulli Viaggi office and introduce yourself.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 200 travellers
- Operated by
- Martulli Viaggi
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Shared tour. This experience will be shared with other guests
How it compares in Matera
- Its from-price is 81% below the median of the 186 experiences we list in Matera.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 2 of 186.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Matera
Matera is a southern Italian city of ancient cave dwellings carved into a ravine, a UNESCO-listed maze of stone houses, rock churches and stepped lanes.
Matera, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy, is built above a deep ravine, and its old districts, the Sassi, are cave houses and stone buildings stacked down the cliff. People have lived here since prehistory, and until the 1950s many families still occupied the caves, before they were moved to new housing. The Sassi were listed by UNESCO in 1993, and the cathedral crowns the rock between the two districts, Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso.
Top-ranked sights in Matera: Sassi di Matera, Murgia National Park (Parco della Murgia Materana), Madonna delle Virtù Church (Chiesa di Madonna delle Virtù).
Special offers in Matera
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
