Tours/Matera/Discover Matera, the ancient city - English tour
Viator · group up to 20 pax

Discover Matera, the ancient city - English tour

4.9(1,868)Matera1 hour
VIATOR4.9(789)TRIPADVISOR4.9(1,079)

Description

An immersive experience to discover everything that makes Matera unique by discovering motherhood and trying to enter, even in the philosophy of life of this strange and unique city. Along with me, Renato, or Gaetano, all licensed guides with a visceral passion and love for the city. The city of Matera, with its ancient districts, is considered among the oldest in the world. An authentic open-air museum that describes with spectacular continuity the life of man from the Stone Age to the present day. Tour not really tourist, step by step you will discover the history of the city, the stories and vicissitudes of those who lived in the Sassi in addition to art, architecture. a 360° analysis of Matera “Shame of Italy” and “World Heritage”. You will also pass through some locations of the films 007; The Passion, W.Woman. the Group could have a maximum of 18 people. If necessary radios will be given to facilitate the tour

Tour Options

English tour
  • Starting point: Piazza San Pietro Caveoso, Piazza S. Pietro Caveoso, 75100 Matera MT, Italy
Tour in Italian

Itinerary

Pass by

The tour develops through the most suggestive places and glimpses of ancient Matera passing through the: Sasso Caveoso and part of the Sasso Barisano. During this tour, visiting not really tourist spots, you will discover the history of the city step by step, for what reason until the beginning of the XXI century we didn't hear about Matera. Walking in the alleys you will enter the philosophy of the Matera listening also to the stories and the vicissitudes of those who lived in the Sassi of Matera besides art, anthropology, architecture and through a 360 ° analysis you will discover how Matera managed to go from the "Shame of Italy" to "World Heritage". It is not the classic tour where churches are visited, but the city is discovered through its own meanders. Besides me, Renato, you could be accompanied by: Sara, Domenico, Gaetano, guides who love Matera and the territory of the Sassi

Highlights

Entrance to the Diver
Visit to cave house

What's included

Included
Entrance to the Diver
Visit to cave house

Traveller Ratings

4.9
1,868 reviews
5
1,766
4
65
3
17
2
12
1
8

Important Information

  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Reviews(1,868)

A
AlisonRowe
June 28, 2026
An authentic tour with the expert

Fantastic tour and authentic felt like I leant a lot from our expert guide was such a hot day so being in the caves was a relief

A
amberblair27
June 27, 2026
Great visit to Matera

This tour was such a highlight of our trip. Renato was the best. He has so much love and passion for Matera and it shows in his tour! I learned so much about the history of Matera. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Matera.

L
Laura_W
June 26, 2026
Renato was an excellent...

Renato was an excellent tour guide - friendly, fun and knowledgable. His family being from Matera gave him great insight to the human history of Matera.

H
Helen_G
June 24, 2026
Fantastic to hear Renatos...

Fantastic to hear Renatos story about his family and Matera - highly recommend this tour very insightful

J
Julia_B
June 23, 2026
Marvellous tour. Highly recommended.

Guitano was a fantastic guide. His wit and knowledge kept the small group enthralled. His explantion of the geography and history of the location of the Matera caves and valley were excellent. The jovial and kind nature of Guitano made the heat of the day pass by without feeling like we were in an oven. The variety of locations, stories and explanationa of life in the past was clearly shown throughtout the valley. I found the cave house fascinating and the Palombaro Lungo (undergeound water system) was really cool to see. The winding streets and maze of cave buildings, and amazing views across all angles gave a sense of wonder. There are plenty of instagram worthy views around each corner and at various squares. The church atop the rocky outcrop was very beautiful and dramatic. We suggest you wear comfortable shoes, sunglasses and a hat to help keep cool. We bought a locally made cuckoo whistle and limestone fridge magnet. The locally made foccacia from a small bakery was delicous. 10/10 tour as you would not know as many details without the excellent guidance of Guitano.

R
rob h
June 23, 2026
A must do in Matera, Renato brings Matera history to life

Renato created a great tour of Matera. Great history information and stories. Highly recommend!!

F
Feliks_S
June 22, 2026
Walking tour of Matera

They should know that Viator was too cheap to get a proper flag for the guide where it clearly says VIATOR instead the flag had nothing related to VIATOR which caused us walking back and forth around piazza looking for our guide

L
Laura_D
June 22, 2026
Fantastic tour!

Our guide was so awesome. Very personable, spoke clearly, took us to many different and interesting locations and even showed us the home where his family used to live. Note: it can be very hot without much shade so bring a water bottle.

M
MARIAREGINA_R
June 16, 2026
Awesome Tour!!!

I LOVED the tour. Gaetano is a wonderful guide: knowledgeable, funny, gentle and easy going. I do recommend this tour as you learn about the history behind the wonderful Matera. Thanks Gaetano for your tour! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🔝🔝🔝

J
JOHN_K
June 14, 2026
Not to be missed

Getano our guide was absolutely wonderful, so full of interesting facts and descriptions and really brought the origins of Matera to life. You get to learn the history of its beginning right up to current day, utterly fascinating and not to be missed if you are visiting Matera. If we hadn’t joined Getano’s tour we would not have gained a full appreciation of just how amazing Materamis. Getano has a fabulous personality, is fun and great at imparting information and his English is perfect. We explored at a very relaxing pace and the use of a very comfortable ear piece which just rests softly on the outside of your ear means you don’t miss out on any of the commentary. Cannot recommend highly enough, such an enjoyable experience which took just over 2 hours.

You might also like...