Matera travel guide

Matera landscape Basilicata

Sara Scarpa explores some of the best things to see and do – plus top places to eat and stay – in the atmospheric southern city of Matera in Basilicata Photos by Iain Reid What to see and do Discover Matera Underground at Ipogeo Materasum Book a guided tour at Ipogeo Materasum, an underground environment […]

48 Hours in Matera

Matera, Basilicata, Italy (sassi di Matera)

Sara Scarpa flies south to visit a unique town in Basilicata that lives in the imagination of all Italians… Photos by Iain Reid unless otherwise stated   Lots has been written about this mystical and historic town in the otherwise little-known and rarely visited region of Basilicata. Part grotto, part subterranean wonderland (it is known […]

On the wire – Italy’s highest and fastest zip wire

High in the mountains of Basilicata, the world’s highest and fastest zip wire gives fearless travellers the ride of their lives. Fleur Kinson straps on a helmet and prepares to launch… Forget lazing by the pool reading the latest blockbuster novels, or nosing round museums, strolling the seafront or relaxing at sunny cafés. Surely there’s […]

Pollino National Park

The Pollino National Park represents a dramatically varied region of wonder and wilderness, offering some of the most breathtaking scenery in Italy… The vertigo-inducing Raganello Gorge shown in this photograph cuts through the Pollino National Park and counts as one of the most dramatic features of this impressive area. The national park of Pollino is […]

Sassi di Matera

The Sassi di Matera are a series of ancient cave dwellings in the comune of Matera, in Basilicata. In fact there are two series of caves: the Sasso Caveoso and the later Sasso Barisano. And yes, they are still inhabited… Cave dwelling is nothing unusual. It has been estimated that in China there are some […]

Sassi di Matera

The Sassi di Matera are a series of ancient cave dwellings in the comune of Matera, in Basilicata. In fact there are two series of caves: the Sasso Caveoso and the later Sasso Barisano. And yes, they are still inhabited… Cave dwelling is nothing unusual. It has been estimated that in China there are some […]

Sassi di Matera

The Sassi di Matera are a series of ancient cave dwellings in the comune of Matera, in Basilicata. In fact there are two series of caves: the Sasso Caveoso and the later Sasso Barisano. And yes, they are still inhabited… Cave dwelling is nothing unusual. It has been estimated that in China there are some […]