About 1 hour from The Nicolaus Hotel Bari, here comes out this beautiful town, among the oldest in the world, where history, culture and tradition come together giving life to one of the most evocative views of Southern Italy.
It is the city of the famous Sassi, a UNESCO World Heritage site and this huge sculpture, testifies the way of inhabiting the caves from the farthest Paleolithic. Many do not know that the Sassi divide into two districts: the Sasso Barisano, the largest district, whose houses nowadays host countless and fancy shops, restaurants and typical trattorias and the Sasso Caveoso, considered the oldest district, which preserves the more rock in the city. You can visit the Sassi from Wednesday to Sunday from April to October from 9 to 18 and from November to March from 10 to 16.30. The cost is € 4.

Continuing the walk, we let ourselves be fascinated by the Cathedral of Matera, enriched inside by precious Byzantine frescoes and the interior embellished with Baroque art.
Matera is also famous for the countless rock churches, dating back to the High Middle Ages, the real mystical places carved into the rock, among the oldest we remember the church of San Pietro Barisano, the church of Santa Lucia alle Malve, the church of Santa Maria de Idris and the crypt of San Giovanni.

But Matera is not just Sassi and Churches. The nature reserves, the parks, the protected oasis that characterize the whole territory of Basilicata around the city represent a characteristic intertwining of nature and culture and within them live not only rare species of fauna and flora, but are also kept finds of great historical value and cultural.
About historical and cultural value... what about a break?
You can not miss a fragrant and tasty bruschetta with bread of Matera and if we match the caciocavallo podolico and a bit of cacioricotta, any excursion, even the most exhausting, will have another flavor.
Matera awaits you!
Oh I forgot, Matera will be the next European Capital of Culture in 2019.