Matera
Caves, Counts and Crusades Self Guided Tour of Matera
Beneath Matera’s main piazza lies a sealed underground city — Roman cisterns, a ninth-century church, and a tank that held five million litres of rainwater. This self-guided audio tour of the Sassi di Matera, delivered through an app, takes you past what most visitors never notice.
You’ll learn why families paid for better skull placement on a church door, how an assassinated count sparked a city motto about patient revenge, and why Hollywood chose these cave streets over the actual Holy Land. Your guide covers both Sasso districts, the cathedral, and cave homes where families of eleven lived alongside their animals.
Start anytime, pause for photos, go at your pace — no group to follow, no fixed schedule. Works offline in the narrow streets. Over 20,000 travellers trust our self-guided tours, and every booking comes with a full refund guarantee. If you want to understand Matera rather than just photograph it, this Matera walking tour is built for exactly that.
Itinerary
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1
Walk across a perfectly ordinary square hiding five thousand square metres of sealed chambers beneath your feet.
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2
Descend into a cistern that held enough rainwater to fill two Olympic swimming pools u2014 and find the lost buckets on its floor.
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3
Pause where a Bourbon fountain once turned the daily water queue into the city's main social event.
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4
Count the thirty-six skulls on the door and notice which families paid for a higher spot.
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5
Step through a trapdoor into an underground church that links a fresco of a medieval pope to the First Crusade.
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6
Stand near the boulder where conspirators hid before ambushing the count who taxed a city to build his own castle.
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7
Watch the Wheel of Fortune carved into stone, then hear why a crowd tears apart a handmade cart here every July.
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8
See a noble house stripped bare and turned into a screen that projects the story Matera spent decades trying to forget.
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9
Linger at the fountain where young men once waited for the only chance they'd get to speak to the women they admired.
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10
Recognise the piazza where Pasolini found a more convincing Jerusalem than Jerusalem itself.
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11
Crawl the same floor where penitents once dragged their tongues across ceramic bricks to beg the Virgin for water.
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12
Spot the bilingual fresco where Christ blesses in two languages u2014 and ask why neither tradition won.
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13
End where a poet who once called Matera miserable later confessed it was the city that smiled at him most.
What's included
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: If you donu2019t love the tour, write to us for a full refund.
- 1-year access to audio on iOS & Android. Listen to the tour anytime, as many times as you like
- Audio and written guide included
- Offline access to the tour (no internet connection needed) once tour is downloaded
- Images to identify stops and in app interactive map for navigation
What's not included
- Any physical devices or headphones
- Human tour guide at location
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- 100% refund 1+ days before departure
- 0% refund Within 1 days of departure
Good to know
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels