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Stay2 day period - the basics

It's the minimum to visit Matera. The Sassi means getting lost in the streets and being kidnapped by the chaotic tangle of housing structures: via Fiorentini, via Madonna delle Virtù, S. Pietro Caveoso, the Grotta house,  via Bruno Buozzi, and then via D'Addozio , S. Pietro Barisano and Casa Cava. In the afternoon, once the hottest hours have passed, look out over the Murgia Timone Belvedere to get a breathtaking view of the city. Try to stop for the sunset: friends from all over the world thank me again for this suggestion!

Dinner in one of the many typical restaurants to taste Matera bread, a DOP product and the pride of the city.

The next day, visit the Civita and the plan: Noha house, to reorganize your ideas with the film made by the FAI on the city, the recently renovated Cathedral, Palazzo Lanfranchi with the famous painting by Levi Lucania '61, the delightful squares Ridola and piazza Sedile for an aperitif. Then the Palombaro Lungo, unmissable to understand the water collection system which has earned it the UNESCO recognition as a World Heritage Site. 

Unfortunately you already have to leave, but if you have some time left, visit the monastic complex of the Madonna delle Virtù and San Nicola dei Greci, to get an idea of the rock churches.

Stay3 day period - The flavour

The extra day allows you to savor: be fascinated by the history of Matera by visiting the many rock churches, such as Santa Maria de Idris and San Giovanni in Monterrone, Santa Lucia alle Malve and the Convicinio di Sant'Antonio. 

For art lovers, don't miss the Musma (Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, (www.musma.it), where installations and works of art create a highly evocative effect,  Lthe "Sistine chapel of rock churches", the Crypt of Original Sin (www.criptadelpeccatooriginal.it for booking) or the story of Josè Ortega in Matera (www.casaortega.it).

For trekking lovers, in addition to the walk from Porta Pistola in Sasso Caveoso, across a Tibetan bridge suspended over the Gravina, to Murgia Timone (sigh! currently closed for safety reasons), the Murgia paths that run along the the "Grand Canyon" of Matera:www.parcomurgia.it for details, my advice is not to miss the visit to the Saraceno Village.

Is three days too little? I think so too....

Stayor more than 3 days - THE SURROUNDINGS

But a longer stay allows you to also take a look at the surroundings to savor the charm of this land: the ghost town of Craco, Aliano with its lunar-charming gullies, the Rabatana of Tursi, the geosite of Montalbano Ionico.

It will be possible to arrange walks with Giuseppe, owner of the structure and geologist by profession. He will accompany you through these fascinating lands, making you passionate about the geological aspects of Basilicata.

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