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Basilicata Uncovered: Matera’s Sassi, Greek Temples & Untouched Trails

Basilicata feels like Italy before the crowds—one of the rare regions in where a traveler can easily experience what life in Italy might have been like in decades past. Matera’s cave dwellings are otherworldly, carved into cliffs that glow at sunset. Inland, villages like Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa cling to the mountains, with winding roads and views that stop you mid-step. The Pollino National Park stretches wide and wild, perfect for slow hikes and long silences. And scattered throughout are ruins—Greek temples, Roman baths, forgotten towns—that remind you how deep the layers run. 

Chiesa di Santa Barbara Matera
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Muro Lucano
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Maratea
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Festa Madonna della Bruna Matera
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Toward the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Beaches of Maratea

Travel to the National and Regional Parks of Basilicata 

Archeology and Wine in Northern Potenza 

Matera Province Hill Villages   

Matera – The Jewel in Basilicata’s Crown   

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Be awed by Matera’s numerous rupestrian churches built into the rocks in both the city and the surrounding wilderness.   

 

Marvel at living history, whether dining, sleeping or exploring museums inside Matera’s Sassi caves.   

 

Head to nearby Tricarico, one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Basilicata, for its pagan inspired Carnevale.   

 

Discover mountaintop villages, with their distinctive Pagan inspired festivals.   

 

Combine a trip an ancient Greek temple with a stop for some beach time on the Ionian coast. 

Explore the region around Muro Lucano, considered the spiritual capital of Basilicata.    

Sip local wines while immersing yourself in the ancient churches and abbeys of Northern Potenza.   

 

Wander the hiker’s paradise of the high-altitude of the region’s high-altitude parks.   

 

Brave and adventurous travelers must take “The Flight of the Angels”, an almost 1-mile zipline between two of the tallest villages in the area.   

 

Be enchanted by Italy’s largest National Park, with its ancient pine trees and traditional villages rooted in Albanian culture.   

 

Relax at one of Basilicata’s coastal beauty spots on the crystal-clear waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea.