Italy · Basilicata · Matera
Sassi di Matera, Matera — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Two cave quarters of Matera, in Basilicata, cut into rock and lived in since the Paleolithic period. Matera Cathedral stands among them.
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Where to stay in Sassi di Matera
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
The choice is which church stands closest. Rooms inside the quarters are cut rooms, so one address differs from the next mainly in how many steps separate it from Matera Cathedral and how long the walk back runs after dinner. The Museo diocesano di Matera keeps to that side.
Castello Tramontano marks the far edge, where the ground levels out and the plainer hotel stock keeps a car within reach. Casa Grotta holds the unrestored version.
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The Matera Cathedral steps
The cathedral ridge divides the two quarters, and the museum doors, the Museo diocesano di Matera included, open a few minutes down the steps.Find hotels in The Matera Cathedral stepsarriving by road and walking down into the quartersBelow Castello Tramontano
The streets under Castello Tramontano sit outside the caves, which is where conventional rooms and space for a car are found.Find hotels in Below Castello Tramontanomuseum days that end back among the rock dwellingsThe Chiesa del Purgatorio side
Chiesa del Purgatorio faces the upper town's museum row, with the National Museum of Matera a short way along it.Find hotels in The Chiesa del Purgatorio sideHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around Matera
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
2- National Museum of Matera Heritage
- National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Basilicata Heritage
Churches & Religious Sites
3- Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista Heritage
- Santa Lucia alla Fontana Heritage
- Ex ospedale di San Rocco Heritage
Castles & Historic Sites
3- The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera UNESCO
- Castello Tramontano Heritage
- cave churches in Matera
Nature & Outdoors
1- Casa Grotta
worth knowingacross 4 categories in and around Matera
About Sassi di Matera
What are the main landmarks in Sassi di Matera?
Matera Cathedral is the fixed point of the two quarters. Below it the rock carries churches of its own: the cave churches in Matera were cut rather than built, and Santa Lucia alla Fontana and Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo sit among the dwellings. Castello Tramontano stands clear of the caves.
The museums run close together, from the National Museum of Matera to the Museo della Scultura Contemporanea and the Museo-laboratorio della Civiltà Contadina. Casa Grotta keeps one dwelling as it was.
What is the history of Sassi di Matera?
The caves outrun any founding date. Dwellings cut into the rock of the two quarters have been used since the Paleolithic period, which puts the beginning of the settlement far outside written record and well before any castle or cathedral. Worship followed the same method, cut rather than built, so the cave churches in Matera sit in the rock beside masonry ones like Chiesa di San Domenico and Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista.
Castello Tramontano and the convento di Sant'Agostino belong to later centuries. The quarters and their rock churches are grouped under the name The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera.
Where is Sassi di Matera?
The name covers two quarters of caves. The Sassi di Matera occupy the rock on the flank of Matera in Basilicata, with Matera Cathedral at their head.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Sassi di Matera?
The Matera Cathedral steps: wanting the cave lanes and the cathedral inside one climb. Below Castello Tramontano: arriving by road and walking down into the quarters. The Chiesa del Purgatorio side: museum days that end back among the rock dwellings.
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Updated October 2026