We drove from Naples to Puglia and made Matera our overnight stop along the way — and I’m glad we did, because one night in Matera is the version I now recommend to every client heading south. I plan Italy travel for a living, and this city in Basilicata — one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on Earth, with people living in its cave dwellings for roughly 9,000 years — is the stop my clients talk about for years afterward.
Here’s how to do it right: not as a day trip, but as a night.
The drive from Naples
The ride itself is part of the experience. Out of Naples you swing around Mt. Vesuvius, past the San Marzano tomato farms and fields that grow the tomatoes every Italian kitchen swears by. Then, as you push into Basilicata, the landscape opens up — rolling hills, not many trees, country that reminded me a little of Spain. And then you arrive in Matera, and the whole world changes.
What makes Matera special
The Sassi di Matera are two ancient districts — Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano — carved directly into the limestone ravine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the 2019 European Capital of Culture. From the cathedral ridge on the Civita, you look out over a honeycomb of stone houses, rock-hewn churches, and stairways that tumble toward the Gravina ravine. It is genuinely one of the most photographed skylines in Italy.
What separates Matera from every other Italian town is the layers. The rupestrian churches — over 150 of them — hold Byzantine-era frescoes from the 10th to 13th centuries. Beneath the streets, the Palombaro Lungo cistern once held enough water for the entire town. And the cave-home museums show how families lived in these same dwellings until the 1950s. It’s history you can walk through, not just look at.
Sunset, then the upper town at night
This is the part day-trippers miss. We loved being there overnight because we could enjoy the sunset — a special golden hour, when the limestone Sassi turn gold and the whole ravine glows. If you only see Matera at midday, you haven’t really seen it.
After the sun sets the top of Matera, where the modern city is built, comes alive with nightlife. The action up there was typically Italian: throngs of people in the streets, lots of music, and because it’s a college town, lots of vibrant twenty-somethings out enjoying life, which adds another layer of texture on top of the ancient stone below.
We rented a nice little hotel room right across from the Church of Saint Mary of Idris. This is located is Sasso Caveoso, the older, quieter of the two Sassi. It is carved into the Monterrone cliff overlooking the Gravina ravine.
Arriving in Matera with Rental Car
Arriving with a rental car is easy if you do it the way we did: work with your hotel. The Sassi are a pedestrian area — you don’t drive into them. Our hotel pointed us to a public parking area outside the pedestrian area, and then sent a driver to bring us and our luggage into the pedestrian zone right to the hotel. That made getting ourselves and our bags to a perfect hotel location completely stress-free.
This is the arrangement I now tell every driving client to set up with their hotel before they arrive: park outside, let the hotel handle the last stretch.
The next morning
One night also buys you the quiet morning. While in Matera be sure to check out the following sightseeing highlights
Walk the two Sassi
Start at Piazza Vittorio Veneto and descend into Sasso Barisano, the more renovated quarter full of cave hotels, wine bars, and artisan shops. Cross the cathedral ridge into Sasso Caveoso, the older, quieter district with the rawer cave facades. Allow 3-4 hours for the full loop.
Step inside Santa Maria de Idris
the rock church carved into the Monterrone cliff in Sasso Caveoso, with its 10th-century frescoes and the famous twin-churches view. This is the detail most first-timers don’t expect.
Visit a Casa Grotta
Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario shows how a Matera family lived in a single cave room until the 1950s, animals and all. It’s the visit that makes the whole place click.
Climb to the Cattedrale
the Apulian Romanesque cathedral sits on the Civita ridge between the two Sassi, with the best panoramic viewpoint in town right outside its doors.
Eat like a local
Order the pane di Matera (the famous crusty bread with DOP status) and anything with peperoni cruschi, the crispy sweet peppers of Basilicata. The Sasso Barisano trattorias are aimed at locals, so prices are refreshingly honest.
What if you only have a day?
Matera does work as a day trip from Bari — about an hour by car or direct bus (Itabus, FlixBus, Miccolis, some straight from Bari Airport, €3-8), or 1.5 hours on the local FAL narrow-gauge train from Bari Centrale.
But you’ll miss the golden hour and the evening up top, which is exactly why I push clients toward the overnight.
How to get to Matera
From Naples
It’s about **2.5–3 hours by car (roughly 160 miles) from Naples — the route I described above, around Vesuvius and through Basilicata.
From Bari
It’s about 1 hour by car or bus from Bari. Once you’re there, the whole Sassi district is on foot. Continuing on to Puglia there are many close towns. Alberobello, the famous trulli town, is about an hour’s drive away. We opted to head south right into the arch of the boot of Italy to visit Taranto, which is about 1.5 hours.
Regardless of where in Puglia you go, Matera slots perfectly into a Naples-to-Puglia routing.
Yes — one night gives you an afternoon of sightseeing, the sunset golden hour, the evening in the upper town, and a full morning in the Sassi before you drive on. Two nights is a luxury; one night is the sweet spot for a stopover.
Don’t drive into the Sassi — they’re a pedestrian area. Park in a garage outside the pedestrian zone and coordinate with your hotel in advance: many hotels will point you to a garage and arrange a driver to bring you and your luggage into the pedestrian area right to the hotel door. That’s how we did it, and it made arrival completely stress-free.
About 2.5–3 hours by car, roughly 160 miles. It’s an easy, scenic drive and the natural overnight stop on a Naples-to-Puglia routing.
You can — about 1 hour each way by car or direct bus. But you’ll miss the sunset and the nightlife, which are the best parts. Stay overnight if you possibly can.
The upper, modern part of town is where it happens. We strolled along Via del Corso, Piazza San Francesco, and Via Domenico Ridola, where there are little bars, gelato spots, and cafes.
The streets were crowded, music was playing, with a young college-town crowd. It feels vibrantly, typically Italian — a sharp, wonderful contrast to the silent ancient Sassi below.
From this area there are little points to look out across the Sassi illuminate at night which is a magical story book view.
Book an Italy Escorted Tour that Includes Matera
Want someone else to handle the logistics? Work with ItalianTourism.us to book an all inclusive southern Italy tour that includes Matera.
Small Group Southern Italy Tour
Spends two nights in Matera with escorted visits to the Sassi cave houses and rupestrian churches, plus Ravello, the Amalfi Coast, and Puglia — the deep south done right, with expert guides from start to finish.
Southern Italy Tour Package | Sicily to Rome
Spends two nights in Matera, with a guided visit of the town and a visit to nearby Alberobello.
10-Day Puglia, Basilicata, Campania Southern Italy Tour
Pair Alberobello with Matera on Day 7, with one night in Matera and a guided tour of the Sassi, plus Bari, Lecce, Naples, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast.
9-Day Naples and Puglia Affordable Southern Italy Tour
With the homebase Martina Franca, take day trips to Alberobello, Bari, Lecce, and Ostuni — and Matera is available as an optional “Matera and Altamura with Bakery Lunch” excursion.
Matera day trips and walking tours on Viator
Planning your Italy trip?
I plan Italy trips for a living, and Matera remains one of my most-recommended destinations in the entire country. And if you want the whole trip handled — flights, hotels, guides, skip-the-line tickets — take a look at our escorted Italy tours finder. The best Italy itineraries are built on towns like this one.
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