Must-see attractions in Basilicata

  • Exterior of the Chiesa San Pietro Barisano church in Matera, Italy.

    Chiesa San Pietro Barisano

    Matera

    Dating in its earliest parts to the 12th century, St Peter's, the largest of Matera's rupestrian churches, overlays an ancient honeycomb of niches where…

  • Palombaro Lungo

    Matera

    This giant cistern, arguably as magnificent as a subterranean cathedral, is one of Matera's great sights. Lying under the city's main square with arches…

  • Casa Noha

    Matera

    Highly recommended as a precursor to visiting the sassi themselves, this wonderful 25-minute multimedia exhibit, spread across three rooms of a 16th…

  • The main cathedral of the Italian city of Matera

    Cathedral

    Matera

    Set high up on a spur between the two natural bowls of the sassi, the wan, graceful exterior of the 13th-century Pugliese-Romanesque cathedral makes the…

  • Italy, Basilicata, Matera, Crypt of the Original Sin. Detail. Bishop and diacon. (Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

    Cripta del Peccato Originale

    Matera

    A fascinating Benedictine site dating to the Lombard period, the Cripta del Peccato Originale (Crypt of Original Sin) houses well-preserved 8th-century…

  • Parco Archeologico

    Basilicata

    Not to be confused with the Tavole Palatine, the Parco Archeologico is a larger, if less immediately impressive collection of Metaponto ruins that…

  • Parco Archeologico di Grumentum

    Basilicata

    The Parco Archeologico di Grumentum – sometimes known as Basilicata's 'Little Pompeii' – contains remains of a theatre, an amphitheatre, Roman baths, a…

  • Abbazia della Santissima Trinità

    Basilicata

    At the northeastern end of Venosa, the abbazia (abbey) was erected above the Roman temple around 1046 by the Benedictines and predates the Norman era…

  • Statue of Christ the Redeemer

    Basilicata

    The symbol of Maratea, visible from multiple vantage points along the coast, this 22m-high statue of Christ faces inland towards the Basilica di San…

  • Castello Tramontano

    Matera

    Situated on a hill near the town centre, this 15th-century castle was left unfinished after the unpopular Count Tramontano, seemingly unaware that high…

  • Tavole Palatine

    Basilicata

    The remains of the 6th-century Temple of Hera – 15 columns and sections of pavement – are Metaponto's most impressive sight. They're known as the Tavole…

  • Museo della Scultura Contemporanea

    Matera

    The setting of this fabulous museum of contemporary sculpture – deeply recessed caves and the frescoed rooms of the 16th-century Palazzo Pomarici – is as…

  • Belvedere

    Matera

    For a great photograph of the sassi, take the Taranto–Laterza road (SS7) and follow signs for the chiese rupestri. This road takes you to the Belvedere,…

  • Maratea Superiore

    Basilicata

    The ruins of the original settlement of Maratea, supposedly founded by the Greeks, are situated at a higher elevation than the current village on a rocky…

  • Museo Archeologico Nazionale

    Basilicata

    This small but important museum is a real throwback to the days when precious artefacts of the past sat soberly behind glass, accompanied only by simple…

  • Casa-Grotta di Vico Solitario

    Matera

    For a glimpse of life in old Matera, visit this historic sasso off Via Bruno Buozzi. There's a bed in the middle, a loom, a room for manure and a section…

  • Chiesa di Santa Lucia alle Malve

    Matera

    Dating to the 8th century, when it was built as the Benedictine Order's first foothold in Matera, this cliff-face church has a number of 13th-century…

  • Museo Nazionale dell’Alta Val d’Agri

    Basilicata

    This modestly interesting museum charts the history of the high valley of Agri, and the nearby Roman town of Grumentum in particular. Artefacts including…

  • Convento di Sant'Agostino

    Matera

    Centred on the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, this 16th-century monastic complex in Sasso Barisano was built by the monks of the Order of the…

  • Cathedral

    Basilicata

    Potenza's Cattedrale di San Gerardo is the town's ecclesiastical highlight. Originally erected in the 12th century but rebuilt in the 18th (since then it…

  • Chiesa di Santa Maria di Idris

    Matera

    Dug into the Idris rock, this church has an unprepossessing facade, but the narrow corridor communicating with the recessed church of San Giovanni in…

  • Museo Archeologico

    Basilicata

    Inside Venosa’s 15th-century Aragonese castle, this small archaeological museum exhibits finds from Roman Venusia and human bone fragments dating back 300…

  • Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso

    Matera

    The only church in the sassi not dug into the tufa rock, Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso was originally built in 1300 and has a 17th-century Romanesque…

  • Roman Settlement

    Basilicata

    The ruins of Venosa's Roman colony of Venusia, founded in the 3rd century BC and birthplace of the poet Horace, can be accessed using your Museo…

  • Museo Nazionale Ridola

    Matera

    This impressive collection includes local Neolithic finds and some remarkable Greek pottery, such as the Cratere Mascheroni, a huge urn more than 1m high.

    • placement: fullWidth
    • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
    • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
    • targeting:
      {
        "position": "superzone"
      }