Matera Sassi Cave Town: Walking the UNESCO Ravine

Explore 9,000 years of continuous human habitation in Basilicata’s rock-cut stone quarters.

Written by ETH Editorial Team

Published: Jul 31, 2026 • Fact-checked by ETH Editorial Team

• Walking Through Ancient Matera

Walking Through Ancient Matera

Once known as "the shame of Italy" for poverty in the 1950s, Matera’s Sassi cave dwellings have been restored into one of the world’s most unique architectural landscapes.

Sasso Caveoso: Preserves authentic rock-cut caves and rupestrian churches carved directly into the limestone cliffs.
Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario (€5.00): Recreates how farming families and livestock lived together in a single cave until 1952.
Transit: Direct private FAL trains connect Bari to Matera Centrale in 1h45 for €5.70.

About the Author

ETH Editorial Team

The ETH (Euro Travel Hacks) Editorial Team researches European travel costs, transport, accommodation, and trip-planning information using official sources and structured Euro Travel Hacks data. Changing prices and travel information are dated and reviewed against cited sources where practical.

Experience: Structured research and verification across official European transport operators, municipal transit authorities, and national tourism offices.

Matera Sassi Cave Town: Walking the UNESCO Ravine

Walking Through Ancient Matera

ETH Editorial Team

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