I flew from Amsterdam to Bari, Italy at noon, arrived at around 2:30 pm and picked up my rental car. It took less than an hour to drive to Matera.
Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, dating back to the Palaeolithic (10th millennium BC). It’s known for its cave dwellings, also known as Sassi, which have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As soon as I checked in and dropped my bag, I set out to explore.
I went to Belvedere di Piazza Giovanni Pascoli first, to take in the panoramic view of the old town.
From there I continued to take the narrow and winding streets to visit various sites throughout the town.
Matera is a city carved into rock. You can see that everywhere.
Palombaro Lungo was closed by the time I got there. It’s an ancient water cistern built in the 18th century and one of the largest in Matera, which could hold up to 5,000 m3 of water.
It had been raining on and off, sometimes pouring and very windy. Rain water was flowing everywhere. After a little over two hours (approx. 3.5 miles), I decided that I had seen enough and walking in the rain wasn’t too much fun. So I went back to the hotel.
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