Matera: Sassi Walking Tour with Casa Grotta & Rock Church

Inside a 1950s cave house, you see how families lived stacked into Matera's stone cliffs

You walk through both Sasso districts with a local guide, step inside a furnished cave house frozen in time from the 1950s, and enter a rock church with original frescoes. Panoramic stops at Piazzetta Pascoli and the ravine viewpoint are built into the route. Entry fees and the guide are included. The tour takes around two hours and suits all fitness levels.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Matera's historic sites

• Visit Sasso Barisano area
• See San Pietro Caveoso square
• View Piazzetta Pascoli panorama
• Tour Casa Grotta del Casalnuovo
• Explore ancient rock church

The experience

Casa Grotta del Casalnuovo stops you cold. You walk into rooms carved straight from the rock, furnished exactly as they were before families left in the late 1950s: the bed frame, the cooking hearth, the tools hanging where someone's grandmother left them. It's not a museum display. It's a house that just stopped being lived in. Your guide, one of the specialized local guides who lead this tour, walks you through what each room was, how water came in, where children slept. The Sassi of Matera have been carved into these cliffs for centuries, but standing inside Casa Grotta is when the abstraction becomes real.

The tour moves through both Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso: the two main stone districts that make up the ancient Sassi. Sasso Barisano faces northwest toward the city of Bari and was the primary settlement. Sasso Caveoso sits across the ravine with its own rhythm of narrow streets and carved facades. You stop at Piazzetta Pascoli, where the Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli taught Latin and Greek between 1882 and 1884, and the view from there (one of the most photographed in Matera) opens across the ravine to the opposite Murgia plateau with its rock churches dotting the stone face. The guide points out the natural cavities in the cliff wall, adapted centuries ago for pastoral use, still visible as what locals call the "empty eye sockets."

The rock church visit is brief but deliberate. The chapel sits below ground level, entered through a courtyard, and inside the frescoes are still intact: the ceiling decorated with coffered panels and ornamental motifs, a terracotta bas-relief of the Madonna and Child above the entrance. The Baroque altar is imposing, interrupting the ancient crypt structure, but the original frescoes survive the centuries and the renovations. It's one small church among dozens carved into the Murgia, but it's the one included on this tour, so you see it with context rather than wandering lost trying to find it yourself.

The whole tour runs around two hours, moving at a pace that lets you absorb the stone, the history, the way light hits the facades at different times. Groups stay small, and the guides are trained to adjust for families, seniors, or younger travelers. Entry to Casa Grotta and the rock church are included, so you're not buying tickets separately or standing in a queue wondering if you're in the right place. You just follow the guide through the Sassi, and the ancient city unfolds as you walk.

What’s included

Your tour includes a specialized local guide, entry to Casa Grotta with its original furnishings and household items, entry to a rock church with frescoes, and stops at panoramic viewpoints including Piazzetta Pascoli and the ravine overlook. The guide leads you through both Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso, the two main ancient districts, and adjusts the pace and focus based on the group.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day except Wednesday and Thursday6 departure times: the first at 10:30, the last at 16:30

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (18 to 80 years) · Senior (81 and older) · Youth (11 to 17 years) · Child (4 to 10 years) · Infant (1 to 3 years)

GroupUp to 30

Live guideItalian

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends at a different place from where it starts.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effortPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by VIAGGI KARMA MATERA

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to understand how people actually lived in the Sassi rather than just walk past the facades: the cave house and the guide's knowledge of the district's history are what make that possible in a single morning.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (11 to 17 years); Child (4 to 10 years); Infant (1 to 3 years).

How long is the Matera Sassi tour?

Approximately two hours, moving at a walking pace through both Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso.

What is Casa Grotta?

A cave house carved into the rock with original furnishings and household items from before families left the Sassi in the 1950s. It's included as part of the tour.

Are entry fees included?

Yes. Entry to Casa Grotta and the rock church are included in the tour price.

Do I need to be fit to do this tour?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. It involves walking through narrow streets and some stairs, but the pace is set by the guide and can be adjusted.

Is the guide a local?

Yes. All guides are specialized, locally trained, and experienced in leading groups through the Sassi.

What is the Sasso Barisano?

One of the two main ancient districts of Matera, named for its northwest orientation toward the city of Bari. It was the primary settlement in the Sassi.

Will I see rock churches?

Yes. The tour includes a visit to one rock church carved into the stone with original frescoes and a Baroque altar.