# Walk Through the Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano

What to do en Matera · Matera

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/things-to-do/sassi · Revisado: 2026-11-11

- Duración: 3 h 30
- Para quién: Without a pushchair

Independent walk through the Sasso Barisano, the Civita and the Sasso Caveoso, Matera's cave-house districts; free, with stairs.

Matera's two cave-house districts, the Sasso Barisano and the Sasso Caveoso, are walked on foot and on your own, with no entry fee: they are public streets, stairs and squares. You pay only for what you visit inside, such as the rock churches or a furnished cave house. Allow three or four hours in daylight and come back at night, when the façades are lit.
What the Sassi are
Matera is dug into a soft calcarenite, tufa, which can be cut with simple tools. For centuries each family dug its house into the rock and used the block removed to build the façade; under the houses they opened cisterns to store rainwater. By the mid-20th century the Sassi were overcrowded, without running water and with malaria, and a law of 1952 moved almost all their residents to new districts. They stood empty for decades, were restored from the late 1980s and in 1993 entered the World Heritage list together with the park of rock churches opposite.
The walk step by step

Piazza Vittorio Veneto. Start in the square of the upper town. From its viewpoints you see the Barisano for the first time, and beneath your feet is the Palombaro Lungo, the great cistern.
Sasso Barisano. Go down the stairs to the district facing north, the most restored, with houses turned into hotels, workshops and restaurants. Look in at the rock church of San Pietro Barisano, which has an entry fee.
The Civita. Climb the spur that separates the two Sassi, crowned by the 13th-century Romanesque cathedral. Its cultural route, with the diocesan museum, has a separate ticket.
Sasso Caveoso. Go down to the southern district, more open to the ravine and more like it was. Here are the Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario and the crag of Santa Maria de Idris, one of the rock churches you can visit.
San Pietro Caveoso. End in the church square, at the edge of the Gravina, with the Murgia opposite. From here, on Via Madonna delle Virtù, is Porta Pistola, where trail 406 begins.

Without entering anywhere, the walk takes about two hours; with two or three visits, half a day.
What you pay for inside
The rock churches on the Oltre l'Arte circuit cost €4.50 for one, €8 for two and €10 for three; children up to age 10 enter free with their parents. There is a €25 ticket that adds up the three churches, the Vicinato a Pozzo, the cave house on Via Fiorentini, the cathedral route, the Purgatory exhibition and the Bread Museum. The Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario is separate, €8 for adults.
When to go
Spring and autumn. In July and August the stone gives back heat and at midday you cannot walk the stairs in the sun: set out first thing and return at dusk. In winter there are fewer people and the odd foggy day that leaves the Sassi almost unreal. From 2 November 2026 the circuit's churches open from 9:30 to 16:30, so at this time do the visits in the morning and leave the afternoon for strolling.
Come back at night: the lights on the façades are the other half of the visit, and the streets are quiet.
Getting there and parking
The Sassi are a limited traffic zone: you cannot enter by car. Park in the upper town and walk down (read the limited traffic zone page). If you arrive on the train from Bari, Matera Centrale station is ten minutes' walk from Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
With children, pushchairs and reduced mobility
The walk is a succession of stairs and cobbled slopes: no pushchair, yes baby carrier. Children enjoy the furnished cave house, with the high bed and the manger beside it, and the Palombaro cistern. With reduced mobility, the upper part of the city and the viewpoints at Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the Civita give the view without going down.
For food, the Panificio Cifarelli sells Matera bread to take away; if you want to sleep inside the Sassi, Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita occupies restored caves.

## Cómo llegar y contacto

- Coordenadas: 40.6655, 16.6118

## Cerca de aquí

- [Vitantonio Lombardo](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/where-to-eat/vitantonio-lombardo), a 154 m
- [James Bond's Matera, through the locations of No Time to Die](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/things-to-do/matera-no-time-to-die-walk), a 181 m
- [Trail 406 and the Suspension Footbridge over the Ravine](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/things-to-do/trail-406), a 189 m
- [Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/where-to-stay/sextantio-le-grotte-della-civita), a 198 m
- [Rock Churches of the Sassi](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/things-to-do/rock-churches), a 204 m
- [Sant'Angelo Luxury Resort](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/where-to-stay/sant-angelo-hotel), a 246 m
- [Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/things-to-do/casa-grotta), a 252 m
- [Panificio Cifarelli](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera/where-to-eat/panificio-cifarelli), a 389 m

## Consejos

### Go down through the Barisano and come back through the Caveoso
That way you end at the edge of the Gravina with the Murgia opposite, the widest view.

### Wear shoes with grip
The stone of the stairs is polished by centuries of use and slippery, especially wet.

### Come back at night
The lit façades change the walk, and at that hour there are hardly any groups.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### Do you have to pay to enter the Sassi?
No. The districts are public and walked for free. You pay for the rock churches, cave houses and museums you visit inside.

### How much time do I need?
About two hours for the walk and three or four with visits. Ideally a whole day with a night.

### Can you go with a pushchair?
It is not advisable: almost everything is stairs. A baby carrier is better.

Destino: [Matera](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/matera.md)